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'''«/i/^A.. 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


Presented  by  Mr   Samuel  Agnew  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Agnczv  Coll.  on  Baptism,  No.        /^ ^  ^ 


^ 


* 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

Jn  2011  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/themesformeditatOObran 


THEMES    FOR    MEDITATION, 


ENLARGED 


IN    SEVERAL    SERMONS, 


DOCTRINAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 


BX    WILLIAM   T.   BRANTLY. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

C.  SHERMAN  &  CO..  PRINTERS,  19  ST.  JAMES  STREET. 


1837. 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  I. 

THE  BIBLE  THE  WORD  OP  GOD. 

1  Thes.  ii.  13. — It  is  in  truth  the  word  of  God.      -        -       Page  13 

SERMON  II. 

CHRISTIANITY  A  FACT  REaUIRlNG  TO  BE  ACCOUNTED  FOR. 

Acts  xix.  20. — So  mightily  grew  the  word  of  God  and  prevailed.    35 

SERMON  III. 

GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

1  Tim.  ii.  4. — Who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 49 

SERMON  IV. 

NO  EQUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL. 

Mat.  xvi.  26. — What  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul  1    84 

SERMON  V. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

1  Tim.  iii.  16. — God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh. 
John  xvi.  13. — When  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth.         -        -        -        -        -•        -        -    97 


^  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  VI. 

THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 

Zech.  viii.  21. — Let  us  go  speedily  to  pray  before  the  Lord,  and 
to  seek  the  Lord  of  hosts.    I  will  go  also.       -        -        -    -     121 

SERMON  VIL 

THE  ATONEMENT. 

Isa.  liii.  8. — For  the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he  stricken.  138 

SERMON  VIII. 

LYING  VANITIES. 

Jonah  ii.  8. — They  that  observe  lying  vanities,  forsake  their  own 
mercy.         - 164 

SERMON  IX. 

INSIPID  RELIGION. 

Rev.  iii.  15. — I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor 
hot. 165 

SERMON  X. 

THE  COMMON  ODIUM. 

Acts  xxviiL  22. — For  as  concerning  this  sect,  we  know  that  every 
where  it  is  spoken  against.        ......      203 

SERMON  XI. 

FOR  A  NEW  YEAR. 

Ps.  Ixv.  II. — Thou  crownest  the  year  with  thy  goodness.        -      21*^ 

SERMON  XII. 

AGAINST  LUKEW^ARMNESS. 

Ps.  xxxi.  23. — O  love  the  Lord,  all  ye  his  saints.     .        -        -     234 


CONTENTS.    -  „j 


SERMON  XIII. 

MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

2  Cor.  viii.  23. — They  are  the  messengers  of  the  churches  and  the 
glory  of  Christ.        -        -        -        -        -        -        -        -        245 

SERMON  XIV. 

THE  LOVE  OP  SUPERIORITY. 

1  Cor.  i.  31.— He  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord.        -     256 

SERMON  XV. 

DANGERS  TO  WHICH  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  ARE  EXPOSED. 

1  Cor.  X.  12. — Wherefore  let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take 
heed  lest  he  fall. 288 

SERMON  XVI. 

THE  aUALIFICATIONS  OP  A  GOOD  MAN. 

Acts  xi.  24. — He  was  a  good  man.  -        -'       -        -     '   -     292 

SERMON  XVII. 

AGE  ADMONISHING  YOUTH. 

Psalm  xxxvii.  25. — I  have  been  young,  and  now  am  old.   -   310 

SERMON  XVIII. 

JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OF  SALVATION. 

Hab.  iii.  17,  18. — Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither 
shall  fruit  be  in  the  vines;  the  labour  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and 
the  fields  shall  yield  no  meat ;  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from  the 
fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls :  yet  I  will  rejoice 
in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation.        -        -    320 

SERMON  XIX. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  ACTUAL  PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH. 

Matthew  xxiv.  44. — Therefore  be  ye  also  ready,  for  in  such  an 
hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of  Man  cometh.        ...  335 


„::  CONTENTS. 


SERMON  XX. 

THE  WISDOM  OF  GOD  IN  SALVATION. 

1  Cor.  i.  21. — For  after  that,  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world  by  wis- 
dom knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching 
to  save  them  that  believe.  -...--     354 

SERMON  XXI. 

ON  ASSURANCE. 

Lam,  iii.  24. — The  Lord  is  my  portion,  saith  my  soul.       -        -    368 

SERMON  XXIL 

RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION. 

Mai.  iii.  16. — Then  they  that  feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to 
another. 380 

SERMON  XXin. 

CONSIDERATIONS  ADDRESSED  TO  THE  AGED. 

Titus  ii.  2. — That  the  aged  men  be  sober,  grave,  temperate, 
sound  in  faith,  in  charity,  in  patience.       ...        -        393 


SERMON    I. 

THE    BIBLE    THE    WORD    OF    GOD. 
1  Thes.  ii.  13. — It  is  in  truth  the  word  of  God. 

A  PLAIN  and  concise  statement  of  the  more 
important  reasons  for  believing  the  Bible  to  be 
the  word  of  God,  will  be  now  submitted  to  your 
consideration.  You  all  style  it  the  word  of  God, 
you  proclaim  it  to  be  the  word  of  God ;  and  I 
may  add,  you  believe  it  to  be  so.  But  all  this 
you  may  do,  without  having  reasons  to  satisfy 
yourselves  and  others,  that  truth  is  on  your  side. 
To  believe  any  thing  without  reason,  is  to  have  a 
belief  which  may  last  as  long  as  the  present  hu- 
mour. Our  faith  will  soon  totter  and  fall,  un- 
less it  can  have  suitable  supports.  What  then. 
Christians,  are  the  supports  of  your  faith?  Do 
you  believe,  because  you  have  never  disbelieved, 
and  are  therefore  of  the  same  opinion  that  you 
always  held  ?  That  is  the  same  kind  of  reason, 
as  for  you  to  say,  you  believe,  because  you  be- 
lieve.    Do  you  believe  the  Bible  to  be  the  word 

.  2 


■I  A  THE  BIBLE 

of  God,  because  a  great  number  of  the  greatest 
and  the  best  men  that  ever  Hved  have  received  it 
as  such,  and  have  published  to  the  wor]d  their 
conviction  to  that  effect  ?  This  is  pinning  your 
faith  on  the  robes  of  others.  Do  you  beheve  in 
consequence  of  some  inward  impression  of  your 
mind,  that  the  writings  styled  the  Scriptures  are 
the  word  of  God  in  truth  ?  How  much  soever  an 
impression  of  your  mind  may  satisfy  yourselves,  it 
will  not  satisfy  others;  besides,  the  impression 
which  the  Bible  makes  upon  your  mind,  is 
caused  by  the  previous  admission  that  it  is  the 
word  of  God ;  the  impression,  therefore,  cannot 
be  adduced  as  a  proof  that  it  is  divine,  since  that 
character  was  attached  to  it  in  your  mind,  before 
the  impression  could  have  been  made.  But  let 
me  cease  to  question  you,  and  now  turn  the  in- 
quiry upon  myself.  Why  do  I  believe  that  the 
series  of  tracts  and  compositions  brought  into  one 
book  and  called  the  Bible,  is  the  icord  of  God  t 
I  do  believe  it,  and  solemnly  affirm  it — 

1.  Because  that  series  of  tracts  and  composi- 
tions, has  come  down  to  us,  claiming  and  profess- 
ing to  be  the  word  of  God.  That  is  to  say, 
the  Bible  makes  a  profession — sets  up  a  claim 
— puts  forth  certain  pretensions.  The  New 
Testament  speaks  of  the  Old,  as  the  Scriptures 
breathed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  into  the  spirits  of 
men,  and  the  Old  Testament   almost   in   every 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  ^g 

part  affirms  itself  to  be  from  God.  Now  let  it  be 
granted  at  once,  that  a  claim,  pretension,  or  pro- 
fession is  good  for  nothing  by  itself.  It  is  only 
good,  when  backed  by  truth ;  and  it  is  then 
good  in  this  view,  that  the  party  making  it, 
stands  committed  to  the  obligation  of  trial  and 
verification.  The  Bible  is  the  party  professing 
this  extraordinary  qualification;  and  the  doubt- 
ing souls  of  men  are  the  party  calling  it  to  the 
verification  of  its  pretensions — putting  it  upon  the 
the  proof.  Permit  the  Bible  then  to  come  for- 
ward in  its  proper  character,  and  verify  its  pre- 
tensions. Let  it  speak  for  itself,  and  address 
itself  to  the  doubts  of  all  mankind.  It  can  set 
forth  such  facts  and  statements  in  confirmation  of 
its  claims  as  the  following  undeniable  ones.  It 
says, 

"  I  have  been  for  nearly  four  thousand  years 
the  strenuous,  untiring,  and  decided  advocate  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  God.  I  have  main- 
tained resolutely  and  explicitly  that  there  is  one 
God,  and  only  one  God,  the  Maker  of  all  things 
visible  and  invisible ;  that  he  is  the  first  and  the 
iast,  the  almighty,  allwise,  omnipotent,  infinitely 
good  and  perfect  God;  that  all  homage  and 
adoration  are  due  him  from  all  intelligences  and 
all  creatures  throughout  the  universe;  that  he 
governs  the  world,  takes  notice  of  the  affairs  of 
all  ranks  of  beings,  holds  converse  with  the  souls 


■tC  THE  BIBLE 

of  men ;  that  justice,  goodness,  mercy  and  love 
are  his  attributes;  that  he  abhors  all  sin,  and 
forbids  it  even  in  the  thought;  and  by  conse- 
quence proposes  and  seeks  the  holiness  and  hap- 
piness of  all  beings  capable  of  this  exalted  state." 

This  is  the  first  appeal  which  the  Bible  makes 
to  justify  its  profession — an  appeal  to  a  great 
and  central  truth.  How^  was  that  truth  imparted 
to  the  Bible,  but  by  God  himself?  The  oneness 
of  Jehovah  is  taught,  is  urged,  is  reiterated — 
is  indelibly  imprinted  upon  every  page.  And, 
should  I  assert  that  except  from  God  himself,  no 
idea  of  his  oneness  could  ever  have  been  impart- 
ed to  the  mind  of  man,  I  should  affirm  what  all 
the  world  cannot  disprove.  I  have  then  a 
reasonable  right  to  affirm  it — and  a  consequent 
ground  of  belief  in  it,  unless  the  position  can  be 
fairly  controverted.  There  is  also  this  singularity 
in  the  Bible  representations  of  the  divine  unity — 
it  is  unity  in  plurality,  simple  unity,  substantial 
unity,  with  a  plurality  of  essence. 

We  are  now  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  adopt- 
ing one  of  three  positions :  either  the  God  of  the 
Bible  was  the  invention  of  those  who  composed 
the  tracts  that  make  up  that  book,  or  it  was  the 
invention  of  other  men  and  adopted  by  the  au- 
thors of  the  Bible;  or  it  was  communicated  by 
God  himself.  For,  if  Moses,  for  instance,  did  not 
originate  such  an  idea  of  God,  and  if  he  could 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  J^ 

have  obtained  it  from  no  human  source,  whence 
could  he  have  derived  it,  but  from  a  divine 
source  ?  That  he  did  not  himself  make  this  dis- 
covery, and  that  it  is  not  the  product  of  any  hu- 
man skill  or  genius,  may  be  fairly  inferred  from 
the  ordinary  character  and  condition  of  all  hu- 
man inventions.  All  these  are  subject  to  modifi- 
cations and  improvements.  Even  the  exact  sci- 
ences, the  principles  of  w^hich  must  remain  the 
same  for  ever,  are  so  variously  applied  to  diver- 
sified and  practical  purposes,  as  to  be  thereby 
greatly  improved.  But  it  is  w^ell  known  that 
metaphysical  science,  and  that  is  the  department 
to  which  the  notion  of  the  divine  being  must  be 
referred,  if  it  be  a  human  discovery,  has  under- 
gone, and  is  still  undergoing  changes  and  im- 
provements, the  history  of  which  would  be  vo- 
luminous. The  scripture  notion  of  God,  however, 
has  undergone  no  change,  has  received  no  im- 
provement. It  is  a  truth  which,  in  its  first  mani- 
festation to  the  human  soul,  was  entire.  It  has 
remained  in  its  full  and  uniform  hold  upon  that 
soul  ever  since.  It  is  therefore  the  result  of  in- 
spiration. And  hence  also,  by  legitimate  conse- 
quence, its  doctrine  respecting  the  Deity,  was 
undiscoverable  by  man. 

But,  the  appeal  which  the  Bible  makes  to  well 
known  truth,  does  not  stop  here.  "  For,"  conti- 
nues that  singular    and  wonderful  book,   "  from 

2* 


\ 


j  Q  THE  BIBLE 

the  time  I  was  ushered  into  being,  I  have  fore- 
seen, and  proclaimed  most  of  the  great  events  and 
occurrences  which  form  the  subject  matter  of  his- 
tory.    I  foresaw  and  predicted  many  of  the  apos- 
tacies  and  the  judgments  following,  of  that  favour- 
ed people  to  whom  my  oracles  were  committed. 
The  blessings  which  would  fill  their  habitations  in 
case  of  obedience,  and  the  calamitous  visitations 
which  would  result  from  defection  were  all  por- 
trayed.    I  foretold  the  dismemberment  and  utter 
extermination  of  the  ten  tribes,  sixty-five  years 
before  the  occurrence  of  the  event.     The  seventy 
years  captivity  of  Judah  in  Babylon  was  no  se- 
cret to  me,  and  was  by  me  divulged  more  than  one 
hundred  years  before  the  time.     The  deliverer  of 
the  people  from  this  captivity  was  named  and  by 
me  exhibited  to  the  world  one  hundred  and  thirty 
years  before  the  beginning  of  the  captivity,  and 
about  two  hundred  years  before  his  birth.     The 
desolations  of  Babylon,  and  Nineveh,  of  Egypt  and 
Persia,  of  Moab  and  Tyre,  and  of  the  mighty  em- 
pire of  the  Grecian  conqueror,  were  all  anticipated 
and  depicted  on  my  faithful  page.    I  looked  down 
the  lapse  of  intervening  centuries,  counting  the 
time  by  weeks  each  day  of  which  was  a  year,  and 
saw  Messiah  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself,  the  ces- 
sation of  the  daily  sacrifice,  and  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  legal  economy.     The  final  destruction 
of  the  Jewish  polity  was  announced  at  least  thirty 
years  prior  to  the  event." 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  "I  Q 

Here  then  is  arrayed  before  us,  a  whole  class 
of  facts  and  incidents,  in  corroboration  of  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  Bible.  The  proof  hence  derived 
that  this  book  is  the  word  of  God,  is  to  be  thus 
stated.  It  belongs  only  to  God  certainly  to  fore- 
know future  events,  and  to  communicate  the  know- 
ledge to  mankind.  The  persons  employed  in  the 
composition  of  the  books  of  Scripture  did  foresee 
and  predict  numerous  and  great  events  which  to 
them  lay  in  a  distant  futurity.  Therefore,  the 
persons  employed  in  the  composition  of  the  books 
of  the  Scripture  did  receive  communications  di- 
rectly from  God.  That  is  to  say,  they  were 
breathed  into  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  their  mes- 
sage is  the  word  of  God.  The  predictions  which 
they  uttered  were  prompted  by  immediate  inspi- 
ration. 

I  now  demand  that  the  profession  of  the  Bible 
be  admitted,  upon  the  vouchers  of  prophecy. 
Every  prophecy  is  a  distinct  voucher,  and  every 
event  in  fulfilment  of  prophecy  augments  the  cre- 
dit of  such  vouchers.  From  the  time  when  the 
first  prophecy  began  to  be  fulfilled  to  the  present 
momejit,  the  Bible  has  been  receiving  accessions 
to  its  credibility.  It  will  continue  to  the  end  of 
time  to  receive  such  accessions,  because  prophecy 
reaches  down  to  the  consummation  of  all  things. 

In  vindication  of  its  credibility,  the  Bible  makes 
a  still  further  appeal  to  facts.    We  are  inclined  to 


I 
THE  BIBLE  I 


20 

behave  towards  the  Bible  as  did  the  Jews  towards 
the  Saviour.  They  came  to  him  and  said,  "  If 
thou  be  the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly."  Confirm  the 
matter  at  once,  and  permit  us  to  see  the  proof. 
His  reply  is  worthy  of  consideration.  "  Jesus  an- 
swered them,  I  TOLD  you,  and  ye  believe  not ;  the 
works  that  I  do,  in  my  father's  name,  they  bear 
witness  of  me."  After  all  the  proofs  of  divine  in- 
spiration which  have  been  accumulated  before  us 
in  times  past,  we  come  back  to  interrogate  the 
Bible,  and  renew  our  demand,  if  thou  art  the 
Word  of  God,  tell  us  plainly.  Let  us  have  some 
one  convincing  proof  that  we  may  never  any  more 
doubt,  and  may  always  live  under  the  vivid  sense 
of  thy  transcendent  authority.  The  same  answer 
which  Christ  made,  the  Bible  makes,  "The 
works  that  I  do,  bear  witness  of  me.  In  marvel- 
lous and  extraordinary  works  I  am  abundant.  I 
emanate  from  a  power  which  has  the  control  of 
the  laws  of  nature.  In  confirmation  of  my  divine 
original  he  has  at  different  times  displayed  signs 
and  wonders  which  have  silenced  and  confounded 
all  gainsayers.  The  giving  of  the  law  at  Sinai 
was  attended  by  preternatural  darkness  and  min- 
gled sounds ;  and  had  been  preceded  by  the  won- 
ders in  the  land  of  Ham,  the  opening  of  the  sea, 
the  water  from  the  rock,  and  manna  from  the 
clouds,  the  record  of  which  facts  is  preserved  to 
this  day  among  the  descendants  of  the  very  men 


THE  WORD  OP  GOD,  OJ 

who  witnessed  them.  The  pubHcation  of  the 
Gospel  was  accompanied  with  strange  incidents. 
Diseases  were  healed  by  a  touch  from  Him  to 
whom  I  owe  my  being,  blinded  eyes  were  opened 
without  medicine,  the  lame  and  withered  were 
restored  by  a  word,  lepers  were  cleansed,  and  the 
dead  raised  up.  Miracles  full  of  mercy  to  the 
wretchedness  of  human  beings  were  exhibited  in 
the  view  of  successive  multitudes." 

The  miracles  alone  which  are  recorded  in  Scrip- 
ture, and  which  can  be  proved  by  incontroverti- 
ble witnesses,  are  amply  sufficient  to  attest  the 
divine  commission  of  those  who  composed  that 
Scripture.  After  the  undoubted  testimony  of 
writers  not  Christian,  that  there  was  such  a  per- 
son as  Christ,  that  he  was  crucified — an  event  in 
which  the  Jews  of  all  ages  since  have  gloried, — 
that  he  had  many  followers  styled  Christians  who 
asserted  his  resurrection  and  died  readily  sooner 
than  retract  their  assertion.  After  all  this,  I  say, 
and  much  more',  who  will  undertake  to  deny  that 
the  same  Christ,  according  to  his  faithful  historian, 
brought  back  to  life  a  dead  man? 

The  influence  which  the  Bible  exerts  where  it 
is  believed  and  obeyed  is  another  pleadable 
ground  of  its  justification.  Is  it  received  and 
obeyed  by  an  individual  ?  The  whole  character 
of  that  individual  is  changed  for  the  better.  If 
he  was  before  revengeful,  he  now  becomes  merci- 


22  THE  BIBLE 

fill ;  cruel  ?  he  becomes  humane ;  proud  ?  he  be- 
comes humble  ;  a  disturber  of  the  peace  ?  he  is 
made  orderly  and  pacific  ;  a  blasphemer  ?  lo  !  he 
now  prays ;  a  brutal  sensualist  ?  he  now  cultivates 
temperance ;  a  man  of  the  world  ?  he  is  now  a 
man  of  God.  Are  there  orderly  families,  good 
husbands  and  wives,  kind  parents  and  dutiful  child- 
ren, good  fellowship  among  neighbours,  compas- 
sion for  the  miserable,  charity  for  the  destitute, 
hospitals  and  almshouses  ?  The  Bible  is  at  the 
bottom  of  all  this.  Are  there  good  laws,  the  en- 
joyment of  equal  rights,  freedom,  happiness,  civi- 
lisation, female  dignity  and  virtue  secured  by  the 
marriage  contract,  useful  arts  and  sciences,  they 
are  all  shoots  from  this  one  stem,  the  Bible.  Is 
there  a  hereafter  to  which  the  human  mind  may 
look  in  the  full  expectation  of  retributions  for  the 
deeds  done  in  the  body,  where  tried  and  suffering 
virtue  will  drop  its  load  of  griefs,  and  daring 
wickedness  will  fall  into  the  coercive  hands  of 
justice,  the  Bible,  and  only  the  Bible  certifies  it, 
points  to  it. 

Must  not  the  Bible,  then,  be  the  word  of  God  ? 
It  does  profess  to  be  so.  It  sets  up  a  claim  to 
that  character,  to  that  dignity,  to  that  paramount 
authority  above  all  other  books.  And  is  not  its 
profession  well  supported  by  facts,  and  incidents 
which  correspond  thereto?  You  give  to  man  the 
character  which  he  claims,  or  professes,  provided 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD,  23 

he  acts  agreeably  to  his  profession.  Do  the  same 
by  the  Bible,  and  I  ask  no  more.  It  professes  to 
be  the  word  of  God,  its  works  and  actions  corre- 
spond with  the  claim,  and  sustain  the  profession. 
Accord  to  it  then  the  confidence  of  your  hearts, 
the  obedience  of  your  lives,  the  love  and  admira- 
tion of  your  whole  souls. 

2.  I  believe  the  Bible  to  be  the  word  of  God, 
because  it  is  the  only  collection  of  doctrines  and 
precepts  which  ever  waged  successful  war  upon 
the  corrupt  inclinations  of  men.  The  world  has 
witnessed  many  systems  of  belief  and  practice 
very  adverse  to  human  convenience,  comfort  and 
happiness.  Many  superstitions  and  forms  of  idol- 
atrous worship  have  existed  and  do  still  exist, 
seemingly  invented  to  minister  to  the  wretched- 
ness of  their  deluded  votaries.  All  these  have 
undoubtedly  conflicted  with  the  well-being  of 
mankind ;  but  not  with  their  corrupt  propensities. 
They  have  increased  the  misery  of  the  world,  but 
have  not  lessened  its  depravity ;  nay,  they  have 
greatly  augmented  that  depravity.  So  that  it  has 
become  the  common  observation  of  history  that 
those  nations  whose  morals  were  most  corrupt 
and  profligate,  ordinarily  multiplied  more  than 
others  their  superstitions.  This  I  think  is  univer- 
sally true  and  undeniable. 

There  have  also  existed  schools  and  institutes 
of  philosophy  which  enforced  the  practice  of  the 


24  THE  BIBLE 

restrictive  virtues,  and  taught  men  to  deny  at 
least  some  of  their  corrupt  inchnations;  and 
these  systems,  it  must  be  granted,  proclaimed 
war  with  some  of  the  debasing  passions  of  human 
nature,  but  their  war  ended  with  the  proclama- 
tion. They  were  never  able,  nor  are  they  yet 
able,  to  effect  any  thing  in  practice.  They  have 
had  no  success.  The  glory  is  reserved  for  Bible 
truth,  and  for  that  alone,  not  only  to  publish,  but 
to  conquer  and  subdue  the  evil  nature  of  man. 
It  offends  his  perverted  reason,  it  offends  his  self- 
love,  it  forbids  his  resentment,  it  cries  shame 
upon  his  sensuality,  it  raises  a  weapon  to  strike 
dead  all  the  cherished  darlings  of  his  heart. 

And  what  then?  Its  adverse  requisitions  are 
submitted  to.  I^ook  upon  the  Bible  men  of  all 
ages;  the  truth  met  some  of  them  while  their 
hearts  were  burning  with  rage,  its  revengeful 
heat  was  in  a  moment  cooled.  It  met  some  of 
them  with  their  hands  full  of  unrighteous  gain, 
and  with  large  treasure  at  home,  a  thing  to  which 
human  nature  is  inseparably  wedded :  the  fruit  of 
their  avarice  is  dropt,  and  distribution  made  to 
supply  the  necessities  of  others.  It  met  others 
while  sitting  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful,  looking 
round  upon  all  their  fellow  men  with  the  air  of 
boasted  superiority,  it  no  sooner  spoke  than,  they 
came  down  from  their  fancied  eminence,  and  be- 
came candidates  for  the  lowest  places;  it  must  be 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  25 

manifest,  that  the  Bible  could  not  achieve  such 
triumphs  over  the  strong  prepossessions  of  fallen 
natures,  if  it  vs^ere  nothing  more  than  the  word  of 
man.  Could  the  word  of  man  stop  a  temp'est? 
The  Bible  calms  the  moral  tempest  of  the  breast. 
Would  darkness  fly  off  and  yield  to  light  at  the 
word  of  man  ?  At  the  word  of  the  Bible  it  is  dis- 
sipated, and  light  shines  victoriously.  Can  the 
word  of  man  awe  into  subjection  the  whole  band 
of  lawless  passions  which  drive  and  agitate  the 
soul?  The  word  of  Scripture  tranquillises  in  a 
moment  all  their  vehemence.  If  then  the  word 
of  man  cannot  produce  the  results  which  the 
Bible  produces,  the  word  of  the  Bible  must  be 
greater  than  the  word  of  man,  that  is,  it  must  be 
God's  word. 

3.  Jesus  Christ,  a  voucher  of  most  peculiar 
qualifications,  informs  us  that  the  Bible  is  the 
word  of  God;  and  this  is  my  third  reason  for  be- 
lieving it.  The  qualifications  of  Jesus  Christ,  as 
a  voucher  for  the  Bible,  would  be  settled  at  once, 
were  his  true  character  known  and  admitted ;  but 
as  that  book  has  to  be  taken  as  the  word  of  God, 
before  the  divinity  of  Christ  can  be  proved,  we 
are  obliged  to  select  some  feature  or  incident  in 
his  history  which  may  be  proved,  or  satisfactorily 
inferred,  from  testimony  other  than  the  Bible. 
The  incident  I  select  is  his  resurrection.  That 
Jesus   Christ   was    really    and    certainly   put   to 

3 


Og  THE  BIBLE 

death,   and  that  he  did  as  really  and  certainly 
return  to  life,  and  to  the  observation  of  numerous 
witnesses,  can  be  inferentially  and  indirectly  proved 
by  testimony,  other  than  that  of  the  Bible.     Here 
then  is  the  proof.     Close  the  New  Testament,  and 
banish  the  whole  evidence  of  Scripture  documents, 
and  still  we  find  ground  upon  which  we  may  firmly  • 
stand  to  defend  the  resurrection.     It  is  ground 
which  even  an  enemy  will  not  contest — a  position 
strong  and  impregnable.     A  Roman  historian  of 
undoubted  veracity,  and  a  most  competent  au- 
thority, since  he  lived  not  far  from  the  time  of  the 
events  which  he  relates,  tells  us  that  in  the  sixty- 
seventh  year  of  our  era,  the  city  of  Rome  was 
set  on  fire  by  Nero,  who  cast  the  blame  of  the  in- 
cendiary act  upon  the  Christians,  and  caused 
many  of  them  to  be  cruelly  put  to  death.*     An- 
other authority  informs  us,  that  the  Christians 
were  so  named  from  Christ,  who,  they  maintain- 
ed, had  been  crucified,  and  had  risen  from  the 
dead.t     And  from  good  authorities,  additional  to 
these,   it   is   clearly  proved  that  many  of  these 
Christians  were  executed,  with  the  accompani- 
ment of  cruel  tortures,  simply  for  their  determined 
persistence  in  maintaining  that  Christ  had  risen 
from  the  dead — that  he  was  God,  and  to  be  wor- 
shipped to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  gods. 

*  Suetonius  in  Nerone. 
f  Tacitus  Annal.  xv.  44. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  27 

We  thus  find,  without  once  looking  into  the 
Bible,  the  following  facts.  1.  In  the  sixty-seventh 
year  of  our  era,  there  were  Christians  at  Rome, 
and  in  many  other  cities.  2.  They  were  so 
called  from  Christ,  whom  they  asserted  to  be 
risen  from  the  dead.  3.  Very  many  of  them 
were  put  to  death  for  their  belief  in  him.  Now 
the  sixty-seventh  year  of  our  era,  is  about  thirty- 
four  years  from  the  time  of  Christ's  crucifixion. 
We  have  then  this  fact,  thirty-four  years  from 
the  time  when  the  Bible  informs  us  that  Christ 
was  crucified,  there  existed  in  nearly  all  the 
great  cities  of  the  Roman  empire,  communities 
of  men  and  women  styled  Christians,  and  that 
they  constantly  and  unitedly  maintained  that 
Christ  had  been  crucified,  but  was  then  living 
in  glory.  And  when  they  were  required  upon 
pain  either  of  torture  or  death  to  retract  their  be- 
lief, they  were  unmoved  and  seemed  to  think  it  a 
privilege  to  die  in  the  retention  of  their  confidence 
that  he  was  still  living. 

The  argument  then  stands  thus.  Those  men 
who  lived  so  near  the  time  of  the  alleged  death 
and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  must  have  been 
able  to  know  whether  that  death  and  resur- 
rection were  fiction  or  fact.  Had  they  known  it 
to  be  fiction,  they  would  not  have  died  sooner 
than  renounce  the  belief  of  it ;  nay,  they  would  not 
have  died  to  glorify  it,  if  it  were  even  doubtful. 
But  they  did  die  in  large  numbers;  submitted 


2g  THE  BIBLE 

cheerfully  and  without  hesitation  to  the  most 
hideous  forms  of  death — and  in  dying  they  con- 
stantly professed  it  to  be  their  aim  to  glorify 
Jesus  and  the  resurrection.  Therefore  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  certainty.  This  proof, 
though  inferential  and  indirect,  is  tantamount  to 
that  which  is  positive  and  direct  in  other  cases. 
If  so,  we  then  have  the  testimony  of  one  who  was 
dead  and  is  alive,  and  lives  for  evermore — that 
the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God.  He  asserts  the 
divine  commission  of  Moses  and  the  prophets. 

4.  The  great  and  admirable  disclosures  made 
in  the  Bible  is  another  reason  which  inclines  me 
to  believe  that  it  is  the  word  of  God.  That  it 
could  never  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man 
to  conceive  of  many  of  the  facts  and  doctrines  of 
this  sacred  book,  seems  to  me  a  clear  case.  The 
idea  of  atoning  for  sin  by  blood  could,  so  far  as 
I  can  see,  never  have  gained  access  to  the  mind 
of  man,  but  by  revelation.  For,  even  though  it 
should  be  contended  that  some  ideas  are  innate, 
that  is,  born  with  us,  this  certainly  is  not  one. 
Still  less  can  it  be  imagined  that  reason  could 
produce  it,  for  reason  dissuades  the  shedding  of 
blood  ;  and  still  less  likely  is  it,  that  such  an  idea 
could  be  prompted  by  fear,  or  a  superstitious 
dread,  or  by  any  want  or  condition  of  humanity, 
since  there  would  always  have  been  a  contrary 
suggestion,  namely,  that  the  destruction  of  animal 
life  might  make  a  bad  case  still  worse.      It  is 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  OQ 

then  next  to  impossible,  nay,  wholly  impossible, 
to  account  reasonably  for  the  origin  of  the  idea, 
but  upon  the  admission  that  it  came  directly  from 
the  Lord  God.  But  the  use  of  blood  as  an  atone- 
ment  for  sin,  is  among  the  most  cardinal  points 
of  the  Bible.  It  is  perceptible  in  some  form  or 
other  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  For  with- 
out the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  ! 
Since  then,  the  custom  obtained  from  the  very 
beginning,  and  cannot  be  a  human  device,  neither 
can  it  be  a  device  of  Satan,  in  as  much  as  it  pro- 
poses to  do  away  sin,  which  he  proposes  to  keep 
and  increase  j  and  since  also,  atonement  for  sin 
by  blood  is  in  order  to  its  forgiveness,  and  for- 
giveness is  in  order  to  the  abolition  of  sin,  and  it 
suits  God  only  to  forgive  sin,  therefore  atonement 
by  blood  is  an  idea  revealed  directly  from  the 
Lord. 

The  Godhead  of  the  Saviour,  the  effect  of  his 
crucifixion  and  resurrection  in  procuring  the  ex- 
piation of  sin,  the  effect  of  his  obedience  to  all 
the  requisitions  of  the  law  in  procuring  pardon 
and  justification,  the  emission  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  produce  regeneration  in  the  souls  of  men,  the 
certainty  of  the  soul's  existence  with  the  body, 
after  the  resurrection,  are  all  matters  which  must 
have  lain  beyond  the  range  of  man's  perception. 
But  are  they  not  truths?  are  not  all  these 
sublime  conceptions  in  wonderful  agreement  with 

3* 


QQ  THE  BIBLE 

the   dictates  of  enlightened  reason?    The   Bible 
then  is  God's  word. 

5.  The  Bible  may  be  confidently  received  as 
the  word  of  God,  because  that  part  of  it,  which 
we  call  the  Old  Testament,  was  composed  for  the 
benefit  of  a  people  who  received  it  at  first  as  the 
oracles  of  God ;  and  who  preserved  it  pure  and 
unadulterated,  maintaining  at  all  times  and  under 
all  their  defections  that  Moses  gave  the  law  at 
the  command  of  God ;  that  the  prophets  prophe- 
sied at  the  command  of  God,  and  that  their  sa- 
cred books  were  all  dictated  by  his  inspiration. 
And  farther,  because  that  part  of  it  which  we 
style  the  New  Testament,  was  acknowledged  to 
be  the  word  of  God,  by  multitudes  who  lived  so 
near  the  time  when  it  was  written,  as  to  have  had 
it  in  their  power  to  know  certainly  the  validity  of 
the  vouchers  and  credentials  to  which  it  con- 
stantly appealed  :  and  if  these  credentials  and 
vouchers  had  not  been  such  as  to  certify  beyond 
all  doubt  the  claims  of  the  New  Testament,  then 
we  should  not  have  read  on  the  page  of  history  of 
such  men  as  Justin,  Ignatius,  Origen,  Cyprian, 
Tertullian,  Irenseus,  and  others,  in  the  Christian 
ranks.  These  men  were  sober  critics,  belonging 
to  the  literati  of  the  world,  discriminating  in  judg- 
ment ;  sedate,  cautious  thinkers,  well  qualified  to 
detect  fallacies,  or  to  discover  and  appreciate  the 
truth.     They,  with  one  consent,  embraced  both 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  Ql 

the  historical,  and  the  epistolary  writings  of  the 
New  Testament,  as  the  word  of  God.  At  the 
same  time  the  early  consent  of  Christian  anti- 
quity, rejected  as  spurious,  many  books  claiming 
to  be  genuine  gospels  and  epistles.  This  shows 
that  they  acted  understandingly  in  the  reception 
of  those  books  received  as  canonical. 

The  Bible  is  certainly  the  gift  of  God  to  man, 
because  the  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  put 
forth  and  exerted  in  its  production,  pre  nervation 
and  promulgation,  cannot  be  otherwise  than  super- 
natural. But  suppose  an  objector  to  rise  up  and  say, 
they  are  natural.     The  wisdom,  power  and  good- 
ness exerted  in  the  production  of  the  Bible,  are  in 
no  respect  beyond  the  capacity  of  uninspired  man. 
What  shall  be  said  to  such  an  objector?  This  shall 
be  the  series  of  questions  which  he  may  be  called 
upon  to  answer.     Is  it  natural  to  man  to  look  into 
distant  times,  and  see  and  foretell  the  contingen- 
cies of  futurity  ?     The  Bible  men  did  this.     Is  it 
natural  to  man  to  assign  the  existence  of  the  uni- 
verse to  one  eternal,  uncreated,  underived,  and 
immutable  mind?     The   Bible    does  this.     Is  it 
spontaneous  in  man  to  love  with  all  his  heart,  and 
soul,   and  strength,   the   supreme,  invisible  God, 
and  to  pay  him  the  homage  of  unceasing  praise? 
Bible  men  must  do  this.     Is  it  in  the  nature  of 
man  of  his  own  accord,  to  go  forth  and   employ 
himself  in  acts  of  lofty  beneficence  towards  his 


QO  THE  BIBLE 

enemies  and  persecutors?  to  spend  his  whole  time 
in  heaping  mercies  upon  the  unworthy,  and  at 
last  to  die  for  those  arrayed  against  him  in  deep 
hostility  ?  He  who  stands  as  the  great  subject  of 
the  Bible,  Jesus  Christ,  did  this.  Is  it  in  man  to 
have  conferred  such  success  upon  the  promulga- 
tion of  Bible  truth,  as  that  which  it  has  actually 
gained  ?  Impossible,  impossible,  must  be  the  re- 
ply to  all  these  questions.  Then  the  Bible  con- 
tinues to  assert  its  claim  to  a  divine  original — be- 
cause its  contents  are  supernatural. 

It  must  then  be  concluded  that  the  Bible  is  the 
word  of  God.  1.  Because  it  makes  in  words,  and 
sustains  by  deeds,  such  a  profession.  2.  Because 
it  is  the  only  code  of  laws  and  doctrines  that  ever 
yet  waged  successful  war  upon  the  corrupt  incli- 
nations of  mankind.  3.  Because  it  has  Jesus 
Christ,  who  was  really  put  to  death,  and  who  as 
really  returned  to  life,  as  a  voucher.  4.  Because 
of  its  great  and  admirable  disclosures.  5.  Because 
those  who  first  received  it,  had  signs  and  mani- 
festations most  convincing  and  satisfactory,  and 
therefore  constantly  believed  it.  6.  Because  the 
wisdom,  power  and  goodness  exerted  in  its  produc- 
tion, preservation  and  promulgation,  could  have 
been  nothing  less  than  supernatural,  that  is,  di- 
vine. 

In  this  brief  view  of  reasons  for  believing  the 
inspired  claims  of  Scripture,  I  have  not  noticed 


THE  WORD  OP  GOD.  QQ 

objections,  nor  have  I  descended  to  particular  por- 
tions of  the  sacred  book.  By  the  Bible,  however, 
I  mean  the  commonly  received  books  from  Genesis 
to  Revelation.  They  must  all  stand  or  fall  to- 
gether. A  separate  argument  might  be  instituted 
to  prove  the  divine  original  of  each  book,  and  for 
aught  I  know,  ten  thousand  reasons  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  claims  of  the  whole  might  be  adduced 
from  the  more  than  ten  thousand  passages  which 
savour  of  inspiration.  But  those  who  cannot  be 
satisfied  with  the  reasons  submitted  in  the  fore- 
going enumeration,  will  never  be  contented  with 
any  or  all  others  put  together.  There  are  those 
of  you,  however,  who  are  satisfied,  and  who  do 
believe  fully  and  cordially  that  the  Bible  is  the 
word  of  God. 

Your  own  belief  places  it  higher  in  your  estima- 
tion, than  any  commendation  which  others  can 
give  it.  But  in  some  respects,  it  is  a  fearful  thing 
to  believe  as  you  do.  To  see  and  believe  the 
truth,  and  still  to  remain  unaffected  by  its  import, 
is  a  fearful  condition.  Do  you  believe  in  that 
holy  God  whom  the  Bible  reveals — in  that  cruci- 
fied and  risen  Redeemer  who  is  the  main  subject 
of  all  its  disclosures — in  that  quickening  Spirit 
sent  forth  to  move  into  spiritual  life  the  dead  souls 
of  sinners  ? — then  where  is  your  obedience,  your 
love,  your  befitting  worship  ?  The  sacred  word 
assures  you,  that  disaffection  to  Christ  and  his 


O^  THE  BIBLE  THE  WORD  OP  GOD. 

Gospel  is  death  eternal  to  your  souls.  This  you 
believe,  and  still  remain  with  unsubdued  iniquities, 
with  unsanctified  dispositions,  with  unregenerated 
hearts.  Your  own  convictions  condemn  you,  and 
preach  more  terribly  to  your  conscience  than  all 
other  monitors.  Make  your  belief  effective ; 
make  it  the  principle  of  your  actions ;  conform  to 
divine  influence,  and  learn  to  rejoice  in  the  abid- 
ing persuasion  that  the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God. 


SERMON   11. 


CHRISTIANITY    A    FACT    REQUIRING    TO    BE 
ACCOUNTED    FOR. 


Acts  xix.  20. — So  mightily  grew  the  word  of  God,  and  prevailed. 

That  Christianity  does  exist,  is  a  fact  which  its 
friends  should  improve  for  its  confirmation.  For 
let  the  inquiry  be  made,  how  did  it  come  ?  How 
did  it  obtain  such  prevalence  over  the  most  happy 
and  enlightened  portions  of  the  globe  ?  By  what 
means  did  it  plant  itself  so  deeply  in  every  soil 
over  which  the  zeal  of  early  propagation  dissemi- 
nated it  ?  Militating  as  it  does  against  the  most 
darling  and  cherished  passions  of  the  human  heart, 
assuming  to  itself  no  weapons  except  those  that  are 
spiritual,  and  disallowing  to  its  adherents  the  in- 
ordinate pursuit  of  worldly  gains  and  pleasures  in 
every  form,  how  has  it  beeii  able  to  grow  into  such 
favour,  and  to  achieve  such  an  extension  ?  How 
has  it  found  a  residence  so  permanent  in  an  ene- 
my's country,  and  a  reception  so  welcome  amongst 
those  whose  pride  it  was  staining,  whose  revenge- 
ful spirit  it  was  curbing  into  subjection,  and  to 


gg  CHRISTIANITY  A  FACT 

whose  love  of  pleasure  it  had  no  incentive  to  offer 
other  than  self-denial  and  mortification  ?     Did  it 
creep   up    into   eminence   whilst  the   world  was 
asleep,  and  take  a  station  too  high  to  be  assailed 
by  the  hand  of  opposition  ?     Not  so.     The  world 
was  awake  to  its  earliest  approaches,  and  sum- 
moned all  the  resources  of  argument,  contempt, 
and  persecution  to  resist  and  if  possible  to  crush 
its  infancy.   Did  there  come  along  some  conqueror 
with  victorious   legions,   at  the  terror  of  whose 
name  the  nations  of  the  earth  were  struck  with 
dread ;  and  did  he  extort  from  the  world  a  reluc- 
tant   homage   to   this   religion  ?     Not    so.     The 
conqueror,  if  such  he  may  be  called,  who  came 
to  enthrone  Christianity  upon  the  ruins  of  a  fallen 
world,   did  not  cry  nor  lift  up  his  voice.     So 
tender,  gentle  and  pacific  was  he,  that  He  did  not 
break  the  bruised  reed,  nor  quench  the  smoking 
flax.    Was  there  some  congress  of  philosophers, 
who  united  their  wisdom,  and  brought  into  requi- 
sition all  their  experience  and  sagacity ;  and  who 
thus  invented,  arranged,  and  matured  the  whole 
plan  of  Christianity ;  and  then  handed  it  over  to 
the  heralds  and  apostles  whom  they  had  selected 
to  carry  it  in  triumph  over  the  earth  ?     Neither 
was  this  the  case.     Christianity  itself  has  already 
passed  judgment  upon  the  arts  of  philosophy.     It 
disclaims   all  the  pretensions  of  human  wisdom, 
assuming  it  as  a  maxim,  That  the  world  by  wis- 


REaUIRING  TO  BE  ACCOUNTED  FOR.  QIJ- 

dom  knoics  not  God.  But  though  it  could  have 
found  its  way  into  this  world  by  none  of  the  me- 
thods  supposed,  still  it  is  here.  It  meets  us  in 
some  shape  in  every  region ;  is  blended  with  the 
customs  and  literature  of  many  nations ;  is  incor- 
porated into  the  laws  and  morals  of  many  countries ; 
and  is  a  part,  a  most  prominent  part,  of  the  history 
of  this  world.  As  a  fact,  or  a  series  of  facts,  it 
meets  the  historian  in  all  his  researches;  as  a 
wonderful  phenomenon,  it  stands  before  the  phi- 
losopher and  demands  his  investigation.  The  very 
politician  finds  it  constantly  in  his  way  in  every 
attempt  that  he  makes  to  explore  the  secret 
springs  of  government  or  revolution.  It  has  suf- 
fered reproach,  contumely,  and  fierce  opposition 
from  its  enemies :  but  the  most  cruel  wounds  in- 
flicted upon  it,  the  most  deadly  fang  ever  planted 
in  its  bosom,  have  proceeded  from  the  abuses  of 
misguided  or  pretended  friends.  Still  it  is  not 
dead.  It  yet  exists,  and  to  this  time  is  advancing. 
Christianity  is  gaining  at  this  very  period  more 
genuine  conquests  than  it  ever  boasted,  at  any 
former  time.  The  question  then  recurs — Hoio 
came  it  here  ?  The  Christian  finds  a  ready  an- 
swer to  this  question.  To  him  it  is  obvious  that 
God  sent  it  here.  But  let  the  Christian  avail  him- 
self of  the  fact,  to  establish  his  faith  and  to  con- 
found gainsayers. 

Before  any  man  can  rationally  neglect,  or  set 

4 


QO  CHRISTIANITY  A  FACT 

aside  Christianity,  it  behoves  him  to  account  for  its 
existence.     Let  the  unbeliever   who  chooses   to 
cavil  and  carp  at  religion,  first  tell  us  how  it  came 
into  being.     If  it  be  of  God,  you  are  then  most 
criminal  in  opposing  and  neglecting  it ;  but  if  it  be 
of  man,  it  is  your  part  to  make  this  appear.    You 
cannot  rid  yourselves  of  the  obligation  to  do  this. 
Religion  is  before  you.     Its  sacred  book  is  depo- 
sited in  every  house,  referred  to  in  almost  every 
course  of  education,  quoted  by  parents  for  the 
benefit  of  their   children,  discussed,  expounded, 
elucidated,   by   minds  of  every   order   from  the 
highest  gradation  of  intellect  down  to  the  humble 
capacity  of  the  ignorant  and  illiterate.     In  our 
own  country  you  see  Christianity  rising  by  a  spon- 
taneous growth.     There  is  no  law  to  enforce  the 
observance  of  it ;  no  inquisition  frowns  upon  the 
man  who  openly  rejects  and  reviles  it ;  no  consti- 
tutional privileges  are  secured  to  the  professors 
and  friends  of  it;  and  still  it  is  growing  up  before 
you  into  a  great  and  blessed  influence.     Look  at 
it — examine  it — enter  fully,  freely,  and  fairly  into 
the  discussion  of  its  claims.     Is  it  nothing  to  you, 
that  such  a  subject  has  been  placed  before  you  ? 
Did  mere  chance,  or  human  contrivance,  or  the 
course  of  nature  obtrude  it  upon  your  notice  ?     If 
upon  examination  you  can  rationally  satisfy  your- 
selves that  it  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  influence  of 
one  or  the  other  of  these  causes,  you  will  be  at 


REQUIRING  TO  BE  ACCOUNTED  FOR.  gQ 

least  consistent  in  turning  to  it  a  deaf  ear.  But 
what  kind  of  a  mind  must  you  have,  to  conduct 
you  to  such  a  conclusion  ?  What  sort  of  credulity 
will  that  be,  which  can  admit  the  enormous  sup- 
position that  Christianity  has  had  any  origin  other 
than  the  immediate  interference  of  God  ? 

We  can  easily  see  in  the  light  of  history,  how 
the  various  systems  of  philosophy  which  have  ob- 
tained in  the  world,  at  different  periods,  secured 
success.  Their  authors  and  patrons  rendered 
themselves  commendable,  by  means  and  arts, 
either  useful  or  specious.  The  Platonics  com- 
mended themselves  to  public  favour  by  their  skill 
in  the  sublime  science  of  Geometry.  The  pupils 
of  the  Peripatetic  school  devoted  themselves  to 
the  history  of  plants  and  animals,  and  by  their  ex- 
traordinary proficiency  in  natural  science,  exhi- 
bited to  the  people  many  of  the  secrets  of  nature ; 
and  thus  acquired  their  esteem  and  admiration. 
The  Stoics  were  distinguished  for  their  learned 
subtleties  in  disputation,  and  being  able  to  con- 
found their  opponents,  gained  a  reputation  for 
wisdom.  The  Pythagoreans  charmed  their  hear- 
ers with  lofty  speculations  respecting  the  soul,  the 
origin  of  all  things,  and  with  the  enchantments  of 
harmony.  Besides  which,  we  can  perceive  even 
at  this  day,  that  the  defenders  of  the  several  sys- 
tems referred  to,  were  among  the  most  powerful 
and  eloquent  writers  that  ever  lived.     Witness 


Af\  CHRISTIANITY  A  FACT 

the  transcendent  skill  and  talent  in  such  writers 
as  Plato,  Xenophon,  and  Theophrastus. 

If  you  direct  your  attention  to  Mohammadism, 
it  will  be  easy  to  account  for  its  origin.  It  has 
owed  its  success  to  the  sword — to  the  skill  and 
bravery  of  its  founders — to  the  lenity  which  it  has 
always  exercised  towards  human  depravity.  Its 
book  is  a  mixture  of  fables  and  absurdities,  with 
moral  maxims  borrowed  partly  from  the  Bible, 
and  partly  from  other  sources.  It  is  easy  to  ac- 
count for  its  progress  upon  the  common  principles 
of  nature.  It  is  comparatively  modern,  and  there- 
fore comes  within  the  scope  of  authentic  history. 
For  the  existence  of  Christianity  you  cannot  ac- 
count upon  any  of  the  common  principles  of  his- 
torical calculation.  Its  first  teachers  made  no 
pretensions  to  the  refinements  of  speech,  nor  to  the 
arts  of  eloquence.  Their  discourse  was  most 
simple ;  the  facts  which  they  stated  were  naked 
and  unadorned ;  precepts,  promises,  and  threaten- 
ings  are  by  them  laid  down,  without  the  slightest 
varnishing  of  worldly  wisdom.  They  had  a  great 
subject;  and  that  did  not  require  great  words. 
They  had  no  honours  to  offer  to  their  adherents  ; 
because  all  important  offices  were  held  either  by 
Jews  or  Gentiles ;  and  in  addition  to  this,  they 
understood,  and  made  the  disciples  to  understand, 
that  reproach,  contempt,  poverty  and  death  await- 
ed them  on  account  of  their  religious  profession. 


REaUIRING  TO  BE  ACCOUNTED  FOR.  A -I 

The  example  of  the  great  was  not  held  up  as  an 
inducement  to  embrace  Christianity;  for  whilst 
among  its  preachers  there  were  but  few  of  the 
rich,  of  the  noble,  or  of  the  wise  of  this  world, 
among  its  private  members  were  chiefly  the  poor 
and  the  destitute. 

Not  only  were  all  the  avenues  of  honour  and 
emolument  closed  against  the  early  Christians, 
but  they  were  subjected  to  such  penalties  as  the 
confiscation  of  their  goods  and  banishment.  They 
w^ere  condemned  to  the  mines,  were  afilicted  and 
crushed  with  tortures,  than  which  more  cruel  ones 
could  not  be  invented.  The  historians  of  that  age 
testify  that  no  famine  or  pestilence  ever  destroyed 
at  one  time  so  many  human  beings,  as  did  the  re- 
lentless persecutions  of  the  early  ages.  Exquisite 
modes  of  torture  and  death,  as  far  removed  as 
possible  from  the  vulgar  kinds  of  punishment, 
were  sought  and  employed  against  the  humble 
flock  of  Jesus.  We  have  it  on  the  authority  of 
Lactantius,  that  a  celebrated  Roman  lawyer  wrote 
seven  books  in  which  he  attempted  to  define  the 
different  modes  of  punishment  with  which  it  was 
judged  Christians  should  be  afflicted.  In  the 
annals  of  what  other  religion  or  philosophy  can 
be  found  such  instances  of  martyrdom,  as  those 
which  are  exhibited  in  the  history  of  the  church? 
The  Greeks  and  other  Pagans,  who  were  accus- 
tomed to  make  the  most  of  every  thing  that  be- 

4* 


4i}  CHRISTIANITY   A   FACT 

longed  to  them,  enumerate  very  few  who  ever 
suffered  death  on  account  of  their  behef.  Socrates 
and  a  few  others  stand  out  conspicuous  on  the 
pages  of  their  history.  That  they  expected  to 
ennoble  their  names  in  the  view  of  posterity,  can 
hardly  be  denied — a  vain  ambition  must  be  attri- 
buted to  them,  by  any  impartial  observer  of  their 
characters.  But  the  great  mass  of  Christian 
martyrs  were  from  the  common  people.  With 
them  there  could  have  been  no  place  for  the  fond 
ambition  of  shining  out  on  the  rolls  of  fame.  They 
had  lived  unknown,  and  they  must  die  unknown ; 
and  in  thousands  of  instances  unlamented.  By  a 
little  dissimulation  they  always  had  it  in  their 
power  to  avert  the  threatened  danger.  Their 
friends  followed  them  with  exhortations  to  the 
very  jaws  of  martyrdom,  calling  on  them  to  yield 
some  slight  token  of  homage  to  the  gods  of  the 
country,  either  by  throwing  on  their  altars  a  little 
frankincense,  or  some  other  equivalent  act.  Why 
could  they  not  be  induced  to  save  themselves 
either  by  recanting  their  profession,  or  by  the  arts 
of  dissimulation  ?  Perhaps  some  of  you  are  ready 
to  say  that  the  firmness  with  which  they  braved 
dangers  and  death,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  their  pecu- 
liar belief,  that  death  in  such  a  cause  would  of 
itself  ensure  heaven  to  their  possession.  But  how 
do  you  know  that  this  was  their  belief?  From 
what  source  could  they  have  derived  such  a  be- 


REaUIRING  TO  BE  ACCOUNTED  FOR.  ^O 

lief?  Did  Paul  teach  it?  Did  Peter  teach  it? 
Was  it  the  doctrine  of  any  of  the  apostles? 
They  must  have  been  united  in  the  persuasion 
that,  though  they  should  give  their  bodies  to  be 
burnt,  and  had  not  the  gracious  unction  of  the 
Spirit  it  would  profit  them  nothing.  When  Chris- 
tianity first  appeared  in  the  world  it  did  not  find 
the  minds  of  men  free  from  other  religions.  It 
had  to  contend  with  many  antecedent  institutions 
to  which  they  had  been  habituated.  The  rites  of 
Paganism  and  of  Judaism  had  pre-occupied  the 
whole  field  on  which  it  was  proposed  to  spread 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Here  was,  then,  a  most 
formidable  barrier.  A  better  prospect  of  success 
would  have  opened  to  the  view  of  man,  had  there 
been  no  prepossessions.  Had  the  way  been  clear, 
had  the  human  mind  been  warped  by  no  prior 
doctrines,  the  work  of  evangelising  the  world 
would  have  appeared  more  hopeful.  But  in  de- 
spite of  this  obstacle,  and  of  all  others,  Chris- 
tianity stands  erect  in  the  midst  of  a  perverse  and 
ill-judging  world.  It  is  wonderful  that  the  sword 
and  the  fagot  of  persecution  did  not  wholly  ex- 
tinguish it.  It  is  still  more  wonderful  that  the 
corruptions  which  were  heaped  upon  it  for  succes' 
sive  centuries,  by  its  pretended  friends,  did  not 
smother  it  to  death.  How  it  survived  the  dark 
ages,  and  lived  amidst  the  corroding  damps  and 
mists  of  papal  ignorance  and  wickedness,  is  to  the 


44 


CHRISTIANITY  A  FACT 


eye  of  reason  wholly  inexplicable,  but  upon  the 
belief  that  God  encircled  it  with  his  protection. 
Imagine  if  you  can  some  other  way  for  its  success 
and  preservation.  Place  before  yourselves  the 
supposition  that  Christianity  originated  in  a  human 
device,  that  it  was  contrived  and  propagated  by  a 
single  mind ;  or  by  a  multitude  of  minds ;  that  all 
its  doctrines,  all  its  precepts,  all  its  characters, 
were  the  result  of  human  invention.  Or  if  you 
prefer  the  alternative,  let  the  still  more  extraordi- 
nary supposition  come  before  you,  that  it  was  the 
offspring  of  chance ;  that  it  came  into  the  world 
by  some  strange  concurrence  of  accidents ;  place 
either,  or  both  of  these  suppositions  before  you, 
and  then  endeavour  to  persuade  yourselves  that 
you  have  made  a  rational  disposition  of  the  sub- 
ject. Believe,  if  you  can,  that  you  have  arrived 
at  a  correct  conclusion.  And  surely  if  you  can 
believe  it,  you  will  be  credulous  beyond  all  exam- 
ple in  the  records  of  Christian  belief. 

1.  The  religion  of  the  Bible,  then,  has  a  divine 
original.  The  benevolence  of  God  sent  it  into  our 
world  to  bless  the  nations,  by  turning  them  from 
their  iniquities,  and  bringing  them  again  to  their 
true  and  rightful  Lord.  Have  you  been  taught 
a  high  regard  for  it ;  and  in  cordial  admiration 
of  its  holy  and  exalted  spirit,  have  you  been  think- 
ing that  it  deserves  to  be  divine ;  that  it  merits 
the  highest  name  and  dignity  that  can  be  conceiv- 


REaUIRING  TO  BE  ACCOUNTED  FOR.  ^g 

ed  by  the  mind  of  man ;  and  that  it  is  worthy  of 
being  the  direct  offspring  of  the  eternal  Parent  ? 
What  you  think  it  deserves  to  be,  it  actually  is. 
Its  great  projector  is  God.  The  mysterious  and 
unsearchable  Godhead  designed,  matured  and 
executed  the  mighty  plan.  It  is  wholly  impossi- 
ble that  it  could  have  come  into  existence  in  any 
other  way.  As  an  effect,  no  cause  on  earth  could 
have  produced  it,  much  less  could  it  have  resulted 
from  the  agency  of  evil  spirits.  It  is  therefore 
necessarily  of  God,  and  impresses  upon  all  who 
receive  it,  a  tendency  towards  him.  Obey  its 
benign  influences,  yield  yourselves  in  willing  cap- 
tivity to  its  godlike  power,  apply  your  reason  to 
the  devolopement  of  its  principles  and  doctrines, 
and  receive  cheerfully  the  imprint  of  its  sacred- 
ness  upon  your  hearts.  Rejoice  in  that  frankness 
and  simplicity  which  forms  one  of  the  prime  ex- 
cellencies of  Christianity.  It  asks  to  be  sought 
out  and  investigated ;  proposes  to  walk  abroad 
amid  the  habitations  and  scenes  of  men ;  and  re- 
quests to  be  conjoined  with  all  the  pleasures,  ho- 
nours and  pursuits  of  human  life — to  all  which  it 
imparts  a  lustre  wholly  its  own.  It  casts  a  propi- 
tious look  upon  the  adversities,  sorrows  and  in- 
quietudes which  infest  the  paths  of  life,  and  they 
soften  into  blessings. 

2.  There  is  that  in  the  world  which  bears  the 
name  of  Christianity,  without  its  essential  princi- 


^g  CHRISTIANITY  A  PACT 

pies  and  doctrines.  What  the  rehgion  of  Christ 
is,  can  be  learned  only  from  the  faithful  record  of 
Scripture.  Those  sacred  writings  which  compose 
the  canonical  books  of  the  Bible,  are  capable  of 
an  authentication  full  and  satisfactory.  Attempts 
have  been  made  to  impeach  their  credibility;  but 
these  very  attempts  have  elicited  vindications 
which  have  placed  their  character  for  simple 
truth  and  fidelity  beyond  the  reach  of  successful 
assault.  We  may,  therefore,  approach  them  as 
God's  lively  oracles,  as  a  repository  of  truth  the 
most  suitable  to  our  mental  wants,  as  a  light  shin- 
ing in  a  dark  place,  the  harbinger  of  immortality. 
We  may  approach  them  as  so  many  streams  is- 
suing from  the  "sapphire  fount"  beneath  the 
throne  of  God.  By  the  clear  radiance  of  these 
truths,  we  shall  be  able  to  expunge  from  the  annals 
of  Christianity  all  the  spurious  matter  which  has 
been  there  enrolled  as  its  constituents.  All  those 
systems  which  have  denied  the  supreme  divinity 
of  Christ,  and  have  thus  disallowed  the  doctrine 
of  his  atonement  for  sin  and  sinners,  will  wither 
away  before  the  intense  light  of  inspiration.  All 
those  bold  blasphemies  which  have  insulted  the 
character  of  Jehovah,  under  the  proclaimed  no- 
tion that  his  lenity  and  benevolence  would  never 
allow  the  exercise  of  punitive  justice  even  against 
transgressors,  will  be  rebuked  into  shame  and 
silence  by  the  authoritative  voice  of  God.     The 


REaUIRING  TO  BE  ACCOUNTED  FOR.  4^ 

corruptions  of  a  church  professing  to  have  had 
Christianity  under  its  pecuUar  guardianship,  and 
to  be  the  mother  church,  must  stand  out  in  all 
their  deformities  by  means  of  the  faithful  deve- 
lopements  of  Scripture.  The  extraordinary  pre- 
tensions of  its  chief  bishop,  the  invocation  of 
dead  men  and  women,  the  deification  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary,  the  mummery  of  empty  rites  and  cere- 
monies, the  pretence  of  Christ's  real  body  and 
blood  in  the  sacrament ;  relics,  pilgrimages,  cru- 
cifixes, indulgences,  absolutions,  and  the  whole  in- 
ventory of  solemn  vanities  constituting  its  miscall- 
ed worship,  are  the  results  of  its  guardianship, 
inflicted  upon  the  patience  of  Christianity ;  but 
from  which  the  "  ethereal  virtues"  of  true  Chris- 
tianity will  purge  itself,  so  soon  as  it  can  attain 
free  and  unrestrained  action. 

3.  Let  us  strive  to  exemplify  in  our  whole  de- 
portment the  temper  and  spirit  of  genuine'religion. 
Its  divine  original,  its  superiority,  and  its  claims 
also,  upon  the  belief  and  obedience  of  our  fellow 
men,  must  be  sustained  and  recommended  by 
our  consistent  and  holy  lives.  You  account 
it  to  be  from  God,  because  its  origin  has  no 
other  rational  solution.  You  must  then  regard 
all  its  precepts  as  fixing  upon  you  an  imperative 
obligation  to  fulfil,  as  far  as  possible,  its  benevo- 
lent instructions.     Then  love  and  practise  all  its 


AQ       CHRISTIANITY  A  FACT  REQUIRING  TO  BE  ACCOUNTED  FOR. 

plain  and  just  requisitions.  Judge  yourselves  by 
its  rules,  console  your  griefs  by  its  promises,  ani- 
mate your  hopes  by  its  rewards,  invigorate  your 
virtues  by  its  vital  energies,  and  look  to  its  glo- 
rious Author  for  the  completion  of  its  incipient 
felicity. 


SERMON   III. 

GOD'S   GRACIOUS   PURPOSE. 

1  Tim.  i.  4. — Who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth. 

What  transcendent  mercy  is  here  disclosed  I 
How  full  of  comfort,  encouragement  and  joy,  is 
the  gracious  annunciation  that  the  Author  of  our 
•being  proposes  and  wills  the  salvation  of  all  men! 
In  such  words  of  kindness  and  pity  there  can  be 
no  room  for  misapprehension,  no  occasion  for  be- 
wildering error, — for  anxious  doubt.  They  are 
plain  and  unequivocal  words,  intended  to  convey 
to  our  minds  an  indisputable  sense ;  to  direct  our 
practice  and  to  warm  our  devotion  in  one  of  the 
most  solemn  duties  of  religion.  They  furnish  a 
strong  and  cogent  inducement  to  us,  to  be  in- 
stant and  importuning  in  our  prayers  for  the  whole 
human  family,  to  whom  we  are  taught  to  wish 
well,  and  to  show  ail  benevolence.  They  should 
have  our  prayers  for  their  well  being ;  for  their 
deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  sin  and  death ; 

for  their    spiritual   illumination  and  conversion; 

5 


^Q  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

for  their  rescue  from  the  power  of  darkness, 
and  translation  into  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear 
Son.  In  the  charities  of  our  hearts  we  should 
embrace  them,  in  our  plans  of  usefulness  we 
should  respect  them,  and  in  our  supplications 
before  the  throne  of  mercy,  we  should  not 
fail  to  present  to  the  compassion  of  God  all 
their  estates  and  conditions.  "  For  this  is  good 
and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God  our  Saviour, 
who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved  and  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  The  benevo- 
lence of  our  prayers  finds  a  model  in  the  exalted 
benevolence  of  the  Father  of  mercies. 

I.  In  the  text  before  us,  and  in  all  similar  ones 
in  the  sacred  word,  there  has  been  made  a  diffi- 
culty, which  I  shall  attempt  to  discuss  and 
remove. 

II.  Having  disposed  of  this  difficulty,  I  shall 
proceed  to  assert  and  establish  the  doctrine  which 
the  text  manifestly  contains. 

III.  A  direct  application  will  then  be  at- 
tempted. 

I.  The  difficulty  may  be  thus  expressed.  If 
God  proposes  and  wills  the  salvation  of  all  men ; 
if  his  compassion  and  benevolence  are  so  un- 
bounded as  to  render  it  not  only  agreeable  to 
him,  but  even  desirable,  that  all  should  be  saved, 
and  if  love  be  the  very  essence  of  his  nature,  so 
that  in  and  of  himself,  he  is  under  a  most  compla- 
cent  and   benignant    disposition   to   prevent   all 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  g|^ 

misery,  and  to  secure  all  happiness  among  his 
creatures,  then  surely  his  omnipotence  can  ac- 
complish, what  his  will  decrees ;  for  who  can  re- 
sist his  will  ?  Will  he  not  so  far  please  and  gratify 
himself  as  to  carry  into  full  effect  the  institutions 
of  his  own  will  ?  Will  not  his  wisdom  foresee  and 
his  power  obviate  any  possible  impediment  which 
might  occur  to  frustrate  his  intentions?  And 
may  wo  not  hence  conclude  that  he  will  ulti- 
mately  save  all  men ;  that  it  becomes  us  to  cast 
off  all  solicitude  about  our  salvation,  to  give  our- 
selves to  the  repose  of  entire  security  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  merge  in  instant  oblivion  every  anxious 
thought,  every  painful  apprehension,  every  obtru- 
sive dread  that  may  agitate  the  settled  security 
of  the  soul  ?  This  and  much  more  of  an  equiva- 
lent import  has  been  said,  and  continues  to  be  re- 
peated. In  many  cases,  when  such  sentiments 
are  not  openly  avowed,  they  may  be  supposed 
nevertheless  to  exist.  And  it  is  to  their  stupify- 
ing  influence  that  we  are  to  ascribe  the  moral 
apathy  of  a  numerous  class.  They  are  w^aiting 
to  be  saved  by  power,  rather  than  by  mercy ;  to 
be  urged  by  force,  rather  than  impelled  by  per- 
suasion ;  to  be  moved  by  coercion  rather  than  the 
allurements  of  goodness  and  love.  They  enter- 
tain some  vague  and  undefined  expectation  of  a 
final  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  But 
they  look  for  it  to  be  effected  by  some  compulsory 


g2  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

measure,  by  some  effort  of  irresistible  grace  which 

will  subdue  all  their  opposition  by  a  violence  of 

divine   compassion  which  will  drag  them  away 

from  the  jaws  of  destruction,  in  spite   of  their 

counter  exertions,  and  precipitate  them,  all  unholy 

as  they  are,  into  the  full  glory  of  the  heavenly 

state.     They  are  looking  for  compulsion  to  drive 

them  to  the  feet  of  Jesus.    The  earth  is  to  quake, 

the  heavens  are  to  gather  darkness  and  tempest, 

the  settled  order  of  the  world  is  to  be  thrown  into 

sudden  commotion,  and  then,  amid  the  rage  of 

contending  elements,  they  are  to  have  the  good 

fortune  to  drop  into  the   bliss  of  heaven.     The 

true  position  of  all  such  must  become  evident,  so 

soon  as  the  word  of  God  is  rescued  from  abuse  ; 

so  soon   as  the  difficultv  now  stated  shall  have 

been  solved. 

1.  And  my  first  observation  tending  to  obviate 
that  difficulty,  is  that  the  grace  of  God  as  put 
forth  and  exerted  in  the  salvation  of  sinners,  is 
not  irresistible."*  If  the  salvation  of  sinners  were 
a  matter  so  decided  and  so  fixed  by  changeless 
decree,  as  to  leave  them  no  power  of  resistance, 
no  liberty,  no  ability  to  seek  and  procure  perdi- 

*  When  I  say  thai  grace  is  not  irresistible,  I  must  be  understood  to 
mean,  that  it  does  not  act  upon  the  soul  by  any  coercive  necessity,  to 
the  exclusion  of  rational  motives  and  inducements ;  and  that  it  does 
not  so  oblige  any  to  be  saved,  as  tliat  they  cannot  procure  final  con- 
demnation for  themselves,  if  they  please. 


GODS  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  g3 

tion  for  themselves,  then  the  impenitent  who  de- 
fer all  compliance  with  the  mandate  of  God,  are 
wise  and  commendable,  because  they  cannot  pe- 
rish. An  invincible  necessity  determines  their 
lot,  and  places  them  beyond  the  possibility  of  ruin. 
But  let  me  not  be  misunderstood  when  I  affirm 
that  the  grace  of  God  is  not  irresistible.  My 
meaning  is  this :  it  offers  no  violence  to  the  natu- 
ral dispositions  of  the  human  heart.  The  power 
which  attends  it,  is  not  coercive,  is  not  impera- 
tive, is  not  an  authoritative  driving  of  the  soul  into 
a  new  condition  of  being.  It  does  not  so  arrest, 
and  so  oblige  the  sinner  by  superior  force,  as  to 
divest  him  of  all  personal  liberty,  and  cast  him 
into  the  imprisonment  of  an  unwelcome  custody. 
The  power  which  grace  exerts  is  the  power  of 
persuasion,  of  illumination,  or  of  attraction.  The 
energy  which  accompanies  it  is  far  from  the  aspe- 
rities of  constraint ;  the  efficiency  which  it  pos- 
sesses, though  approaching  towards  compulsion, 
yet  stops  short  of  it.  It  calls  the  soul  effectually, 
moves  it  by  rational  inducements,  rouses  it  from 
the  sleepy  torpor  of  unbelief,  and  informs  it  by 
the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  in  all  this 
there  is  nothing  that  impairs  the  freedom  of 
choice,  or  of  action.  Allow  that  the  human  race 
can  reject  the  propositions  of  the  Gospel,  can 
spurn  the  counsel  of  God,  can  decline  the  over- 
tures and  quench  the  illuminations  of  the  Holy 

5* 


54  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

Spirit,   and  you  make  ample   concession  of  all  I 
demand.     And  if  this  power  of  resistance  belongs 
to  the  whole  species,  it  may  be  predicated  of  each 
individual  of  the  species.     It  is  a  most  necessary 
consequence,  that  what  is  true  of  the  whole,  is  true 
of  each   component   part.      The   denial   of  this 
sweeps  off  at  once  the  whole  foundation  of  all  cor- 
rect judgment,  and  converts  reason  into  fallacy. 
The  denial  of  it  involves  the  assertion  of  the  oppo- 
site, namely,  that  what  is  true  of  the  whole,  is  not 
therefore,  necessarily,  true  of  each  part,  taken  se- 
parately.    And  the  application  of  the  principle 
hence  derived,  would  be  that  whilst  the  human 
race  as  a  whole  body  can  reject  the  propositions 
of  the   Gospel,   can   decline   the   overtures   and 
quench  the  illuminations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  there 
are  certain  individuals  who  cannot,  who  find  re- 
sistance an  impossible  thing,  and  who  accordingly 
yield  to  the  necessity  of  being  saved,  just  as  they 
yield  to  the  necessity  of  dying.     Such  individuals 
I  am  confident,  are  not  to  be  found  among  the 
saints  on  earth,  nor  among  the  spirits  of  the  just 
made  perfect  in  heaven.     Is  there  now  a  child  of 
light,  who  had  not  originally  the  power  of  choos- 
ing darkness  rather  than  light  ?     Is  there  to  be 
found  among  all  the  ransomed   souls  who  now 
swell  and  gladden  the  chorus  of  grateful  acclama- 
tion to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  one  whose  praise 
is  not  spontaneous,  whose  hallelujahs  are  not  the 
voluntary  effusions  of  grateful  love  ?     But  if  com- 


GODS  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  gg 

pulsion  had  placed  one  soul  amid  that  company, 
tlien  the  case  demanded  by  the  interrogatory  might 
be  adduced,  and  a  pitiful  case  it  would  be.  Its 
forced  hallelujahs  would  be  enough  to  interrupt 
the  harmony  of  all  heaven. 

But  before  we  consign  our  minds  to  the  belief 
that  grace  is  not  compulsory  and  irresistible,  let 
us  impartially  examine  those  doctrines,  examples, 
and  declarations  of  sacred  Scripture  which  may 
appear  to  countenance  the  idea  that  it  is. 

It  will  be  said,  that  the  doctrine  of  predestina- 
tion, as  connected  with  the  plan  of  salvation,  fa- 
vours the  opinion  that  grace  is  irresistible,  since 
all  those' events,  the  existence  of  which  is  deter- 
mined by  predestination,  must  necessarily  trans- 
pire, and  nothing  short  of  the  application  of  an 
irresistible  power  can  ensure  their  occurrence. 
And  in  continuation,  if  predestination  has  made 
certain  the  salvation  of  some  portion  of  the  human 
race,  then  that  portion  is  obhged  to  be  saved,  and 
nothing  short  of  coercion  can  oblige  them.  This 
is  in  substance  the  argument  of  predestinarians  in 
favour  of  irresistible  grace.  But  there  is  a  de- 
fective link  in  this  chain,  which  being  touched 
even  gently,  the  whole  falls  asunder.  For  what 
,  is  predestination  ?  Who  can  define  it  ?  Who  can 
describe  its  powers,  its  operations,  its  limits  and 
its  bearings  ?  Is  it  something  different  from  God, 
or  is  it  something  identical  with  him  ?    Is  it  fate, 


56 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 


necessity,  or  destiny,  as  the  ancient  philosophers 
maintain  ?  For  my  own  part,  I  frankly  confess, 
that  I  know  not  what  it  is.  This,  however,  I  do 
know :  It  never  yet  made  a  unit  of  the  human  race, 
either  good,  or  bad,  by  necessity.  It  never  yet 
interfered  with  the  perfect  liberty  of  thought  and 
action.  It  never  yet  deducted  one  iota  from  the 
absolute  freedom  of  any  intelligent  and  responsi- 
ble agent.  Long  as  it  has  been  in  the  world,  po- 
tent as  are  its  powers,  predestination  never  has 
in  any  case  so  interfered  with  the  volitions  and 
determinations  of  the  human  mind,  as  to  impair 
in  the  slightest  degree  the  consciousness  of  ability 
to  act  as  it  pleased.  Where  then  is  the  violence 
which  grace  derives  from  predestination  ?  Let 
the  word  of  unerring  truth  be  consulted,  and  that 
will  disclose  to  us,  all  that  predestination  effects. 
Its  power  in  determining  with  certainty  the  con- 
version of  sinners,  it  is  thought,  has  been  exhibit- 
ed in  Acts  xiii.  48.  "And  when  the  Gentiles 
heard  this  they  were  glad,  and  glorified  the  word 
of  the  Lord.  And  as  many  as  were  ordained 
unto  eternal  life,  believed."  Admitting  that  the 
term  ordained  as  here  used,  teaches  the  doctrine 
of  predestination,  yet  we  cannot  detect  in  the 
idea  the  slightest  approach  towards  coercive  ne- 
cessity. Those  who  were  ordained  to  eternal 
life,  became  believers,  and  thus  acted  with  the 
perfect   consent  of  their  own  minds,  a  thing  they 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  g»J' 

would  not  have  done,  if  urged  on  by  a  force  not 
to  be  resisted.  The  mind  is  perfectly  free  in  be- 
hoving, for  though  the  evidence  may  be  so  strong 
as  to  make  unbehef  impracticable,  yet  belief  it- 
self is  a  spontaneous  movement.  But  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  the  word  in  the  forecited  text 
means  any  thing  more  than  that  the  Gentiles 
were  so  circumstanced  by  the  providence  of  God, 
as  that  they  should  have  all  the  requisite  facili- 
ties for  the  attainment  of  salvation  through  Christ, 
as  well  as  the  Jews ;  and  that  those  there  pre- 
sent, so  favoured  by  gracious  opportunity,  did  ac- 
tually believe.  The  texts  which  occur,  Romans 
viii.  29,  and  Eph.  i.  5,  11,  are  in  no  sort  of  hostili- 
ty to  the  idea  of  the  soul's  unrestrained  liberty 
whilst  undergoing  the  process  of  regeneration.* 
Let  us  examine  them  : — 

"For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  pre- 
destinate to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son, 
that  he  might  be  the  first  born  among  many  bre- 
thren." Rom.  viii.  29.  The  act  of  pre-ordina- 
tion  which  is  here  said  to  accompany  the  divine 
foreknowledge  goes  to  fix  and  determine  what 
shall  be  the  future  character  of  the  redeemed. — 
Fellow -conformists  to  the  image  of  Christ. 
But  surely  they  are  reduced  to  this  conformity  by 
persuasion  and  illumination,  and  not  by  irresistible 
force.  The  same  observation  is  fully  applicable 
to  Eph.  i.  5,  11,  where  it  will  be  perceived  that 


y 


Kg  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

the  act  of  predetermination  falls  upon  the  ulti- 
mate establishment  of  moral  and  religious  charac- 
ter. "  Having  predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption 
of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  himself,  according 
to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will."  "  In  whom  we 
have  obtained  an  inheritance,  being  predestinated 
according  to  the  good  purpose  of  him  who  worketh 
all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  that  we, 
who  first  trusted  in  Christ,  should  be  to  the  praise 
of  his  glory."  The  most  we  can  make  out  of  these 
scriptures  towards  the  establishment  of  the  notion 
of  invincible  grace,  is,  that  Almighty  God  has 
predetermined  the  character  and  qualifications 
requisite  to  the  saints.  They  must  conform  to 
the  image  of  Christ — must  have  the  adoption  of 
children — must  possess  that  holiness  which  shall 
express  his  glorious  praise.  But  all  this  is  to  be 
achieved  by  influences  that  are  either  attractive 
or  impulsive  in  their  dealings  with  the  human  soul. 
To  the  same  leading  view  must  be  referred  such 

0 

declarations  as,  "  Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in 
the  day  of  thy  power." — Ps.  ex.  3.  "God  hath 
not  cast  away  his  people  whom  he  foreknew.  I 
have  re  erved  to  myself  seven  thousand  who  have 
not  bowed  the  kne(5  to  the  image  of  Baal.  Even 
so  at  this  present  time,"  there  is  a  remnant,  accord- 
ing to  the  election  of  grace ;  and  if  by  grace  then 
it  is  no  more  of  works." — Rom.  xi.  2 — 5. 

Should  it  be  alleged  that  the  great  scriptural 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  :z(\ 

doctrine  of  election  confers  absolute  certainty 
upon  the  salvation  of  some  portion  of  mankind, 
and  that  the  operations  of  grace  must  be  irresisti- 
ble, at  least  upon  the  elect — I  reply :  Be  the  doc- 
trine of  election  what  it  may,  it  evidently  teaches 
nothing  inconsistent  with  the  idea  that  salvation 
is  so  propounded  to  all  men,  as  to  make  its  accept- 
ance or  rejection  a  possible  thing.  This  accept- 
ance or  rejection  is  also  made  to  depend  upon  the 
free  arbitration  of  a  power  within  us,  and  however 
that  power  may  be  influenced,  controlled  or  impel- 
led in  forming  its  determinations,  it  is  laid  under 
no  necessity  either  of  acceptance  or  rejection, 
because  either  is  possible,  which  could  not  be  if 
compulsion  intervened.  What  I  am  now  insisting 
upon,  is  in  full  view  of  the  fact,  that  some  are 
converted  and  some  are  not;  some  regenerated 
and  some  not ;  some  are  true  penitents  and  others 
never  feel  one  genuine  emotion  of  the  sort ;  some 
love  God  and  bear  the  impress  of  sanctity,  while 
others  remain  under  the  dominion  of  unbelief  and 
hardness  of  heart ;  and  all  this  diversity  is  witness- 
ed under  the  same  administration  of  visible  means. 
And  what  are  we  hence  to  infer  ?  That  his  elec- 
tion of  some  so  changes  their  relations  to  him, 
that  even  before  conversion  and  regeneration  they 
are  exempted  from  condemnation  and  its  conse- 
quent liabilities  ?  Few  in  the  present  day  can  be 
found  to  defend  such  an  anti-Christian  sentiment. 


! 


aQ  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

The  saints  were  all   children  of  wrath  even  as 
others,  Eph.  ii.  3.     They  were  once  the  children 
of  disobedience  on  whom  the  wrath  of  God  Com- 
eth, Col.  iii.  6,    7.     The  judgment   which  came 
upon  all   men  to  condemnation,  Rom.  v.  .18,  in 
their  natural  state,  is  not  revoked  by  election,  but 
through  the  atonement  of  Christ,  and  therefore 
the  elect,  prior  to  faith  and  justification,  are  under 
the  pressure  of  a  full  and  unmitigated  condemna- 
tion.    From  all  which  I  conclude,  that  election  is 
of  grace  and  not  of  necessity ;  that  it  effects  no- 
thing towards  any  man's  salvation,  independently 
of  repentance   and  faith  ;  and  that  it  therefore 
makes  no  provision  for  irresistible  grace.     That 
the  Holy  Spirit  does  exert  a  greater   influence 
upon  some  minds  than  upon  others  within  the  pale 
of  the  same  visible  administration  of  means ;  and 
that  this  greater  influence  must  account  for  the 
conversion  of  some,  whilst  others  remain  uncon- 
verted, is  what  I  fully  believe,.     That  salvation 
too  is  wholly  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  that  it  is 
God  that  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do,  is 
a  position  to  which  my  mind  fully  accords.     But 
I  am  equally  confident  in. the  belief  that  ah  this  is 
done  without  the  least  interference  with  the  free- 
dom of  the  human  soul.     Hoic  it  can  be  done  I 
pretend  not  to  explain.     How  the  soul  can  be  re- 
novated and  created  anew,  and  brought  to  the  re- 
linquishment of  all  its  old  plans  and  purposes,  and 


GODS   GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  gj 

that  too  by  a  power  not  inherent  in  it,  but  an  en- 
ergy other  than  itself,  without  once  throwing  the 
least  constraint  upon  the  liberty  of  its  own  deter- 
minations, is  that  which  I  believe,  but  which  I  can- 
not explain.  The  contrarieties,  if  such  they  may 
be  called,  in  my  belief,  produce  no  uneasiness ;  nor 
do  I  feel  tempted  once  to  doubt  the  truth  and  con- 
sistency of  views  apparently  at  variance  with 
each  other.  God's  free  and  sovereign  grace  in 
the  redemption  of  sinners,  and  in  all  the  influences 
by  which  that  redemption  is  applied,  and  rendered 
effectual,  is  most  clear  and  undeniable.  Equally 
clear  and  undeniable  is  man's  responsibility.  He 
chooses  or  declines,  yields  or  resists,  loves  or  hates, 
believes  or  disbelieves,  just  as  if  his  life  or  death 
was  entirely  at  his  own  disposal.  And  still  his 
impotence  and  guilt  have  disqualified  him  for  so 
small  an  achievement  in  the  matter  of  his  salva- 
tion, as  the  thinking  of  a  good  thought.  In  as- 
suming these  positions  I  have  the  broad  sanction 
of  Scripture.  More  cannot  be  demanded.  Its 
commands,  doctrines,  and  exhortations  are  ad- 
dressed to  mankind  upon  the  ground  of  a  capa- 
bility on  their  part  to  refuse  compliance  with  the 
divine  requisition.  And  the  requisition  is  so  abso- 
lute and  uncompromising  as  to  make  no  allowance 
for  any  inability  to  comply.  Neither  the  sinner's 
disinclination  of  heart  unto,  nor  weakness  of  pur- 
pose in,  actual  conformity  to  the  will  of  God,  can 

6 


02  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

in  any  degree  extenuate  his  criminality.  Turning 
a  deaf  ear  to  the  mandates  of  God,  living  in  sin, 
because  he  loves  not  to  live  in  holiness,  and  che- 
rishing his  unbelief,  because  his  heart  is  wholly  and 
obstinately  disinclined  to  faith  and  its  consequent 
actings,  he  becomes  a  suitable  expectant  of  that 
"  indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish, 
which  shall  come  upon  every  soul  of  man  that 
obeys  not  the  truth." 

Surely  then  the  sinner  can,  and  does  resist  his 
own  salvation — all  sinners  do  this. 

According  to  Job,  the  wicked  "  Rebel  against 
the  light ;  they  know  not  the  ways  thereof;  nor 
abide  in  the  paths  thereof." — Job  xxiv.  13.  "  They 
also  rebel  against  the  word  of  God,  and  contemn 
the  counsel  of  the  Most  High." — Ps.  cvii.  11. 
Jehovah  declares,  Ps.  Ixxxi.  11,  "My  people 
would  not  hearken  to  my  voice,  and  Israel  would 
none  of  me."  And  Wisdom  utters  her  complaints, 
Prov.  i.  25 — 30,  "  Ye  have  set  at  nought  all  my 
counsel,  and  would  none  of  my  reproof.  They 
hated  knowledge,  and  did  not  choose  the  fear  of 
the  Lord.  They  would  none  of  my  counsel,  they 
despised  all  my  reproof"  In  the  Gospel  according 
to  Luke,  the  Pharisees  and  lawyers  rejected  the 
counsel  of  God  against  themselves,  and  in  John 
iii.  19,  our  Lord  recognises  the  power  of  men  to 
resist  and  disobey  the  demands  and  teachings  of 
the  light — men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light. 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  g3 

they  exercised  their  hberty  of  preference  to  the 
one,  and  rejection  of  the  other.  From  the  Apostle 
Paul  we  learn  that  "  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed 
from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrigh- 
teousness of  men,  who  hold  the  truth  in  unrigh- 
teousness." That  is,  who  resist  the  teachings  and 
claims  of  the  truth.  And  from  the  same  Apostle 
we  ascertain  the  dreadful  doom  of  those  who 
"  obey  not  the  truth  but  obey  unrighteousness." 

Should  it  be  asked  whether  such  special  and 
efficacious  grace  as  that  which  was  displayed  in 
the  conversion  of  the  three  thousand,  Saul  of 
Tarsus,  the  Philippian  jailer,  and  others,  could 
have  been  resisted ;  and  whether  the  grace  that 
is  sufficient  for  the  conversion  of  any  soul,  can  be 
resisted,  I  answer:  all  wilful  resistance  on  the 
part  of  sinners  ceases  after  conversion — after 
regeneration — after  saving  conviction.  The  Holy 
Spirit  produces  in  the  hearts  of  such  a  new  dis- 
position, a  new  principle  of  action,  new  views  and 
feelings,  and  they  surrender  themselves  to  God, 
as  if  overcome  by  his  goodness.  But  up  to  the 
period  of  their  surrender  they  do  resist  and  oppose 
his  benignant  influences,  how  strong  soever  they 
may  be.  In  the  very  instant  of  conversion  or  of 
regeneration,  for  I  use  both  these  terms  to  express 
the  same  thing,  a  conquering  power  is  felt.  It  is, 
however,  the  power  of  light,  of  love,  of  persua- 
sion ;  and  although  resistance  then  ceases,  it  does 


QA  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

not  cease  in  compliance  with  any  coercive  neces- 
sity, but  in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  a  re- 
newed soul.  Let  us  try  this  view  of  the  case  by 
the  word  of  God.  Conversion  is  there  represented 
as  the  reception  and  acknowledgment  of  Jesus  as 
Saviour  and  Redeemer;  as  the  soul's  near  ap- 
proach to  him,  and  reliance  upon  him ;  as  deliver- 
ance from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  translation 
into  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son,  as  a  great 
moral  change  implying  repentance  toward  God, 
and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  as 
the  application  of  a  sin-sick  soul  to  Christ,  the 
great  Physician.  From  all  which  it  would  seem 
that  no  soul  is  obliged  to  be  converted,  nor  obliged 
to  come  to  Christ,  nor  will  any  at  last  be  obliged 
to  enter  heaven.  The  power  which  renews  and 
converts  the  ungodly  is  divine;  is  full  and  suffi- 
cient ;  is  not  to  be  frustrated,  not  to  be  repelled 
from  the  pursuit  of  its  object — approaches  near 
to  compulsion,  but  stops  short  of  it. 

If,  then,  it  be  true  that  the  individuals  of  our 
apostate  race  are  in  possession  of  a  power  which 
they  may  exert  to  their  own  destruction,  and  that 
no  coercive  necessity  insures  the  salvation  of  any 
one  of  them,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  reconcile 
the  benevolent  design  of  God,  touching  the  salva- 
tion of  all  men,  with  the  inevitable  perdition  of 
the  ungodly;  nor  will  it  be  difficult  to  reconcile 
his  equitable  impartiality  with  the  certain  salvation 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  gg 

of  the  elect.  Unbelievers  are  as  certainly  con- 
demned ;  and,  remaining  so,  will  be  as  certainly 
cast  into  an  eternal  hell,  as  if  coercive  necessity 
obliged  them  to  it.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  be- 
lievers in  Christ  must  as  certainly  attain  the  eter- 
nal felicity  of  heaven,  as  if  the  same  necessity 
compelled  and  forced  them  into  the  beatific  vision. 
But  the  certainty  in  the  final  retributions  to  be 
awarded  to  each  party,  though  as  strong  as  neces- 
sity can  make  it,  is  nevertheless  of  a  character 
wholly  and  essentially  different.  The  sinner's 
perdition  is  his  own  wicked  act,  the  believer's  sal- 
vation is  with  his  own  full  and  joyful  consent.  I 
have  no  reply  to  make  to  those  who  contend,  that 
the  same  grace  which  makes  of  one  sinner  a  true 
convert,  and  thus  insures  his  salvation,  would  make 
a  true  convert  of  another,  who  is  permitted  to  re- 
main in  sin  and  unbelief  to  his  own  certain  ruin 
and  desperation  in  endless  wo.  I  say,  I  have  no 
answer  to  make  to  such  an  allegation,  and  the 
reason  is,  I  find  none  in  the  word  of  God.  But  I 
find  in  the  silent  testimony  of  every  unsanctified 
conscience,  the  vindication  of  God.  Men  are 
impenitent  because  they  will  be  so — are  blind  to 
eternal  interests,  because  they  prefer  darkness; 
are  without  hope  and  without  God  in  the  world, 
because  they  love  that  condition  more  than  the 
opposite  gracious  one ;  are  strangers  to  the  bless- 
ings of  faith  and  justification,  because  they  wish 

6* 


jgg  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

to  be  so.  The  condemnation  and  the  curse  are 
abiding  upon  them,  not  because  they  cannot  be 
rescued,  but  because  they  will  not.  They  are 
ruined,  are  lost,  are  perishing,  not  because  of  any 
defect  in  the  care,  or  mercy,  or  efficacy  of  the 
Saviour's  provisions  for  their  salvation,  but  because 
disposed  and  minded  as  they  are,  they  could  not 
be  carried  to  heaven,  except  with  their  sins.  The 
Saviour  who  would  save  them,  must  be  willing  also 
to  save  their  sins. 

2.   Salvation  is   attainable   only  through   the 

KNOWLEDGE   OF    THE    TRUTH.       This     prCCludcS    all 

idea  of  a  compulsory  salvation;  and  strongly 
marks  the  character  of  the  gospel  plan  of  salva- 
tion. 

By  pre-eminence  the  Saviour  himself  is  the 
Truth.  Truth  came  by  him,  and  signalized  his 
life  and  character.  It  emanated  from  him  as  from 
a  radiant  point,  and  flowed  far  and  w  ide  over  the 
domain  of  darkness  and  error ;  and  again,  all  its 
dispersed  and  solitary  rays  met  in  full  concentra- 
tion in  him,  so  that  he  was  as  glorious  in  truth  as 
in  mercy.  The  knowledge  of  Christ  is,  therefore, 
the  knowledge  of  truth — and  this  is  eternal  life, 
to  know  the  living  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom 
he  hath  sent. 

To  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  in  the 
sense  of  the  text,  is,  I  presume,  the  acquisition  of 
true  religion.     This  consists  in  the  knowledge  of 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  g7 

the  truth,  and  the  heart's  conformity  to  its  teach- 
ings and  injunctions.     "  Ye  have  obeyed  from  the 
heart,"  says  an  Apostle,  "  that  form  of  doctrine 
which  was  dehvered  to  you;  and  being  made  free 
from  sin,  ye  became  the  servants  of  righteousness." 
Still  let  it  be  kept  in  due  remembrance,  that  a  bare 
knowledge  of  the  truth  is  not  religion.     A  perfect 
acquaintance  with  the  whole  gospel,  and  even  some 
zeal  for  the  evangelization  of  others,  coupled  with 
admiration  for  the  beautiful  simplicity  and  gran- 
deur of  its  moral  precepts,  may  be  often  found 
among  those  who  can  make  no  just  pretensions  to 
the  Christian  character.     In  coming  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  in  the  sense  of  the  sacred  word, 
one  of  the  first  impressions  of  the  soul  is  the  per- 
ception of  guilt.     One  of  the  first  lessons  which 
the  truth  teaches  us,  is  the  vile  pollution  of  our 
own  hearts.     No  sooner  are  we  admitted  within 
the  scope  of  its  illuminations,  than  the  whole  de- 
rangement of  our  inward  man  appears  in  woful 
certainty.     Conviction  follows  light,  and  self-con- 
demnation completes   the  prostration  of  all  the 
favourable  estimates  which  we  may  have  formed  of 
ourselves.      The  morality   or   innocence    of   life 
which  we  may  have  previously  boasted,  is  no  pro- 
tection against  the  stern  demands  of  a  law  which 
condemns  us  to  unutterable  misery  for  the  with- 
drawal of  our  hearts  from  the  Lord.     Thus  the 
very  first  salutation  with  w  hich  the  truth  meets  us 


ao  GOD  S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

is  the  accusing  voice  of  reproach  and  reprehen- 
sion. Our  guilt  in  being  aliens  from  God;  our 
impiety  in  setting  up  in  our  hearts  opposing  in- 
terests and  affections ;  our  sullen  insensibility  to 
all  his  past  mercies  and  benefactions;  and  our 
indifference  to  all  the  calls  of  his  providence  and 
the  loving  entreaties  of  his  word  and  Spirit,  are 
arrayed  in  fearful  order  before  us.  It  must  be 
expected  that  truth  will  deal  plainly  and  faithfully 
with  us.  It  comes  with  no  soothing  flatteries,  with 
no  false  lenitives ;  but  with  the  searching  power  of 
a  light  that  pierces  the  darkness  of  the  soul.  To 
satisfy  yourselves  that  I  but  echo  the  voice  of 
Scripture,  read — read  Rom.  vii.  7,  8,  9,  10,  11 ; 
iii.  19,  20;  Ps.  xix.  7;  John  iii.  20,  21 ;  Acts  ii.  37. 
But  that  truth  which  asserts  and  proclaims 
our  condemnation,  also  tells  of  justification.  Here 
is  an  epitome  of  it.  The  very  moment  my  faith 
embraces  Christ  and  rests  upon  him,  I  am  a  jus- 
tified soul.  The  very  moment  in  which  I  appre- 
hend the  virtue  of  his  atonement,  the  fulness  of 
his  redemption,  the  sufficiency  of  his  righteous- 
ness, and  the  prevalence  of  his  intercession,  the 
law  drops  its  curse,  justice  ceases  its  denuncia- 
tions, and  a  reconciled  God  pronounces  my  ac- 
quittal. Am  I  accused  after  this  ?  A  Saviour's 
blood  pleads  for  me.  Am  I  reproached  and  re- 
viled, a  righteousness  made  mine  by  faith  is  my 
justification.     Am  I  openly  and  fiercely  condemn- 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  gQ 

ed  by  the  opposing  powers  of  darkness,  all  Hea- 
ven rises  for  my  vindication. 

The  faith  by  which  a  sinful  and  condemned 
soul  is  made  just  before  God,  is  an  operative  prin- 
ciple, and  attended  always  with  a  transformation 
of  nature.  Conversion  is  its  inseparable  attend- 
ant. From  the  moment  of  the  soul's  believing  re- 
liance upon  Christ,  it  commences  the  work  of 
sanctification.  The  leaven  of  malice,  and  wicked- 
ness, and  moral  defilement  begins  to  be  expelled 
from  the  heart,  which  henceforth  becomes  the 
seat  of  holy  affections  and  influences,  and  the  do- 
minion of  grace  is  there  set  up.  Truth  there  se- 
cures an  abode,  and  exerting  continually  its  heal- 
ing virtues,  frets  and  irritates  the  conscience 
while  diseased  with  sin,  promotes  penitential 
grief  and  humility,  stimulates  all  the  feeble  graces 
of  the  new  man  into  life  and  action,  and  thus 
braces  and  invigorates  all  the  springs  of  perse- 
verance. See  Ps.  xix.  7 — 9.  cxix.  9,  11,  104. 
Luke  viii.  11,  15.  John  xvii.  17.  Acts  xv.  9. 
2  Cor.  iii.  18.     Eph.  v.  26.     1  Pet.  i.  22,  23. 

No  more  space  can  be  allowed  at  present,  for 
the  discussion  and  removal  of  the  difficulty  with 
which  the  text  and  similar  portions  of  Scripture 
have  been  perplexed.  The  difficulty  is,  that  if 
God  wills  the  salvation  of  all  men,  why  is  not  his 
will  accomplished  ?  For  the  removal  of  it,  I  have 
maintained  that  grace,  the  only  way  of  salvation, 


<yf\  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

is  inconsistent  with  coercive  necessity,  and  conse- 
quently it  is  incompatible  with  the  very  plan  and 
constitution  of  the  Gospel  economy  to  compel  or 
guarantee  universal  salvation,  since  not  even  a 
partial  salvation  is  effected  by  the  application  of 
coercive  necessity. 

I  am  aware  that  I  have  attempted  a  subject 
which  has  been  long  vexed  by  the  irritations  of  con- 
troversy, and  almost  inextricably  entangled  in  the 
labyrinth  of  metaphysics.  It  is  too  much  to  expect, 
that  those  who  have  made  for  themselves  agree- 
able systems  and  theories  against  any  of  which 
the  foregoing  views  may  carry  a  disturbing  influ- 
ence, will  be  inclined  to  regard  them  with  favour, 
or  approbation.  Their  Christian  candour  in  the 
examination  of  such  views,  is  all  I  ask.  The  little 
influence  which  I  may  possess,  either  from  the 
pulpit  or  the  press,  is  directed  mainly  and  prima- 
rily towards  the  developement  and  recommenda- 
tion of  simple,  unadulterated  Scripture  truth. 

II.  The  doctrine  which  the  text  manifestly 
contains,  is  now  to  be  asserted  and  established. 

When  it  is  declared  that  the  will  of  God  favours, 
or  resists  any  particular  event  or  occurrence,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  declaration  is 
made  in  accordance  with  the  expressed  sense  of 
the  Bible.  This  is  the  only  light  by  which  we 
can  see  what  is  agreeable  and  what  is  disagree- 
able to  the  will  of  Omn  potence.     If  we  go  one 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  >yi 

step  beyond  this  we  are  involved  inTprofound 
darkness,  and  lost  amid  a  thousand  absurdities 
and  contradictions.  In  contemplating  the  origin 
of  moral  evil  by  this  light,  we  must  arrive  at  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  not  only  never  intended  as 
a  part  of  the  system  of  God's  government,  but 
that  all  requisite  precaution  was  adopted  by  Him, 
to  hinder  and  prevent  its  existence.  The  Bible 
surely  teaches  this,  if  it  teach  any  thing  clearly. 
If  then  any  one  should  bring  the  charge  of  weak- 
ness, or  of  insufficiency  upon  the  administration 
of  the  divine  government,  because  moral  evil  was 
not  intercepted  and  stopped  before  it  reached  ex- 
istence, it  being  contrary  to  the  will  of  God,  such 
a  person  has  a  controversy  with  the  Bible,  and 
must  settle  it  as  well  as  he  can.  And  if  the  same 
individual  should  find  in  the  fact,  that  God  makes 
the  sincere  and  affectionate  tender  of  salvation  to 
every  human  creature,  with  the  gracious  purpose 
that  the  tender  be  accepted;  and  that,  neverthe- 
less, a  large  portion  of  mankind  do  not  and  will 
not  accept  it,  and  his  will  and  purpose  are  there- 
fore frustrated,  the  difficulty  lies  still  against  the 
Bible,  which  is  responsible  for  all  its  own  doc- 
trines. The  Bible  shows  us  a  divine  Being  who 
discountenances,  and  forbids  all  sin,  both  in  the 
conception  and  the  act.  He  would  not  have  it  to 
exist,  and  when  it  does  exist,  he  would  have  its 
existence  to  cease.     The  same  authority  teaches 


"TO  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

US  that  sin,  with  all  its  possible  aggravations,  has 
been  in  the  world  as  long  nearly  as  man,  and  that 
it  will  never  cease.  Sin  .must  be  as  eternal,  as 
the  punishment  to  be  inflicted  upon  sinners.  Here 
then,  we  have  what  to  some  may  appear  a  strange 
contrariety  of  cases :  that  is,  the  will  of  Omnipo- 
tence disallowing  the  admission  of  moral  evil  into 
any  portion  of  his  universe,  and  the  entrance  of 
that  evil  into  his  universe,  notwithstanding  the  dis- 
allowance. Upon  a  perfect  parity  with  this  is  the 
case  of  the  will  of  the  same  Almighty,  making  a 
gracious  tender  of  salvation  to  all  mankind,  and 
following  up  that  tender  by  calls,  invitations,  and 
overtures  of  mercy ;  and  notwithstanding  all  the 
movements  of  his  kind  interposition,  no  small  part 
of  those  to  whom  he  exhibits  such  merciful  offers 
are  proceeding  calmly  on  towards  eternal  perdi- 
tion, and  will  inevitably  abide  an  everlasting  doom 
of  wo.  From  which  it  is  plainly  inferable  that, 
neither  holiness  is  preserved  among  finite  intelli- 
gences, nor  sin  excluded  from  them,  by  any  coer- 
cive necessity.  If  then,  God's  benevolent  inten- 
tion as  to  the  salvation  of  all  men,  be  not  accom- 
plished, the  failure  in  the  accompHshment,  is  pre- 
cisely similar  to  that  which  occurred  in  his  inten- 
tion to  prevent  the  existence  of  moral  evil,  which 
nevertheless  does  exist. 

In  taking  this  plain  scriptural  ground  we  may 
feel  perfectly  secure ;    unerring  truth  places  us 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  >yg 

here,  and  fortifies  us  on  all  sides  by  the  strong 
munitions  of  revealed  light.  Its  solid  consistency, 
its  unimpeachable  integrity,  its  exalted  holi- 
ness, and  perpetual  harmony,  are  not  now  to  be 
asserted,  or  proved.  Its  faithfulness  is  record- 
ed in  the  very  heavens,  and  is  lighting  on  towards 
the  great  central  glory,  all  who  obey  the  Gospel. 

The  doctrine  which  I  am  now  prepared  to  an- 
nounce and  defend,  is  this,  that  God  would  have 
all  men  to  cease  from  sin,  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth,  and  thus  obtain  salvation.  My  work 
here  is  easy  and  delightful,  because  there  is  little 
else  to  do,  than  to  furnish  the  Scripture  parallels 
to  the  text.  Out  of  the  innumerable  testimonies 
which  speak  to  this  purpose,  I  shall  make  a 
selection.  "  A  just  God  and  a  Saviour,  there  is 
none  beside  me  :  Look  unto  me  and  be  ye  saved 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth,  for  I  am  God,  and 
there  is  none  else."  Is.  xlv.  21,  22.  "  And  he 
said,  is  it  a  light  thing  that  thou  should  st  be  my 
servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  re- 
store the  preserved  of  Israel,  I  will  also  give  thee 
for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be 
my  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth."  Isa. 
xlix.  6.  "Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to 
the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money ;  come  ye, 
buy  and  eat,  yea  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  with- 
out money,  and  without  price."  Iviii.  1.  "  Have 
I  any  pleasure  at  all,  saith  the  Lord  God,  that 


^4  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

the  wicked  should  die,  and  not  that  he  should  re- 
turn from  his  ways  and  live.     I  have  no  pleasure 
in  the  death  of  him  that  dieth,  saith  the  Lord 
God,  wherefore  turn  yourselves  and  live  ye."    Ez. 
xviii.  23,  32.      "Say  unto  them,  as  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of 
the  wicked,  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his 
way  and  live.     Turn  ye  from  your  evil  way,  for 
why  will  ye  die?"     Ez.  xxxiii.  11.     "For  God  so 
loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.     God  sent  not 
his  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world :  but 
that  the  world   through   him   might  be   saved." 
John  iii.  16,  17.     The  ministry  of  reconciliation 
teaches,  that  God  is  in  Christ,  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself.     2  Cor.  v.  19 ;    that  Christ 
gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified  in  due 
season ;  that  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins, 
and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world ;  that  God  commands  all  men  every 
where  to  repent,  and  that  he  is  no  respecter  of 
persons."    If  it  should  be  said  that  there  is  ano- 
ther class  of  Scriptures  which  teach  an  opposite 
doctrine,  and  that  these  now  quoted  must  be  so 
interpreted  as  to  conform  to  those  which  express 
a  different  sense,   I  must  say,  that  I  have  not 
found  that  other  class.     For  to  obtain  a  meaning 
the  opposite  of  that  which  the  forecited  texts  ex- 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  i^g 

press,  we  must  reverse  those  texts,  and  make 
them  speak  the  very  contrary  of  what  they  do 
speak;  that  is,  the  Lord  must  be  made  to  say,  he 
has  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked ;  he  sent 
his  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world, 
that  the  world  through  him  might  be  destroyed. 
That  it  is  not  good  and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of 
God  our  Saviour,  that  prayers  and  supplications 
should  be  made  for  all  men,  because  he  will  not 
have  all  men  to  be  saved  and  come  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth.  If  we  thus  reverse  the  mean- 
ing of  these  Scriptures,  we  shall  find  no  parallels 
for  them  in  the  Bible. 

It  is  conceded  without  the  least  reserve  that 
much  of  the  Bible  represents  the  divine  Being  as 
acting  and  proceeding  entirely  upon  his  own  plea- 
sure in  the  bestowment  of  mercy  upon  some,  and 
in  the  withdrawal  of  it  from  others.  So  that 
many  events  which  fall  under  the  control  of  the 
divine  government  can  be  only  accounted  for  by 
referring  them  to  the  free  and  sovereign  determi- 
nation of  God.  This  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of 
the  Apostle  Paul,  when  he  says,  "  Therefore  hath 
he  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy,  and 
whom  he  will  he  hardeneth."  And  in  the  revela- 
tion of  divine  things  to  babes,  whilst  they  were 
hidden  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  our  Lord  re- 
fers us  to  the  will  of  the  Father.  "  Even  so.  Fa- 
ther, because  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight." 


lyg  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

Still  it  will  be  found  upon  examination,  that  whilst 
the  merit  of  creatures  is  never  made  the  pro- 
curing cause  of  divine  favour,  their  sin  and  de- 
merit are  always  made  the  procuring  cause  of 
punishments  and  calamitous  visitations.  And 
hence,  though  the  Lord's  mercies  depend  upon  his 
own  will  and  pleasure,  and  are  therefore  unac- 
countable to  us ;  yet  his  judgments  are  always  to 
be  accounted  for  by  reference  to  the  criminal  at- 
titude of  those  upon  whom  they  fall. 

3.  Having  gained  a  suitable  position,  it  is  now 
my  intention  to  sound  an  alarm  in  the  ears  of  the 
unconverted. 

You  have  succeeded  in  tranquillising  the  dis- 
turbance of  salutary  dread  in  your  hearts,  by  per- 
suading yourselves,  that  if  God  intends  to  convert 
you,  he  will  yet  apply  some  more  powerful  means, 
under  the  constraining  influence  of  which  you  will 
be  forced  to  accede  to  the  terms  of  salvation.  But 
what  means  more  efficacious  do  you  either  expect 
or  wish?  Contrive  a  process  of  salvation  for 
yourselves,  and  permit  us  to  see  what  more  you 
would  have  the  Lord  to  do.  Would  you  have 
him  to  smite  you  with  the  rebukes  of  his  justice, 
until  your  soul  is  filled  with  bitterness  and  your 
body  with  wasting  agony  ?  You  would  be  excused 
from  this.  Would  you  choose  rather  some  con- 
suming malady,  which  should  diminish  and  dry 
up,  by  little  deductions,  the  very  sources  of  your 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  ^i^ 

vitality,  and  leave  you  pitiful  and  exhausted  skele- 
tons, instead  of  healthful  forms  and  active  mem- 
bers ?  Such  an  alternative  I  am  sure  you  would 
not  adopt.  Would  you  then  prefer  some  more 
expeditious  and  malignant  distemper,  which  would 
soon  cut  you  off,  and  send  you,  its  lamented  victims, 
to  an  early  grave,  with  little  warning  and  less  pre- 
paration, ushering  your  souls  into  the  eternal 
world  ?  From  such  a  trial  as  this,  I  am  sure  you 
would  shrink.  You  would  beg  a  little  time,  a  lit- 
tle respite ;  and  would  not  only  pray  yourselves, 
but  would  request  the  prayers  of  others,  that  you 
might  be  spared  to  recover  strength  before  you 
should  go  hence  and  be  no  more.  Or  do  you  wait 
to  be  goaded  and  lashed  by  the  scorpion  stings 
and  whips  of  a  conscience  awakened  to  implaca- 
ble rage,  and  unsparing  remorse ;  and  driving  your 
souls,  nearly  frantic  with  despair,  upon  expedients 
which  will  aggravate,  rather  than  soften  the  burn- 
ing anguish  which  rankles  within?  From  the 
horror  of  such  a  state,  I  am  convinced  you  would 
beg  to  be  delivered.  How,  then,  would  you  like 
to  be  cast  upon  the  waves  of  affliction,  to  be  re- 
proached and  reviled  among  men,  to  be  reduced 
to  the  pinchings  of  penury  and  want,  to  have  to 
wait  for  the  world's  cold  charity  to  relieve  your 
urgent  necessities,  to  see  the  objects  of  your  affec- 
tion smitten  with  death  whilst  yet  in  your  arms, 

or  near  your  hearts,  to  see  those  who,  in  nearness 

7*      ~ 


tyo  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

and  dearness  to  you,  were  almost  identical  with 
yourselves,  covered  with  the  shroud,  confined  in 
the  coffin,  and  committed  to  gloomy  darkness  ? 
If  you  should  decline  all  these  helps  towards  reli- 
gion, tell  me,  then,  what  would  be  agreeable  to 
you?  It  is  most  certain  that  the  spirit  of  Christ 
is  not  reconcilable  with  your  present  views,  and 
were  you  now  obliged  to  accept  for  your  portion, 
your  ALL  IN  ALL,  his  religion,  in  its  simple,  meek, 
and  self-denying  character,  you  would  consider 
the  obligation  a  most  calamitous  visitation.  You 
would  beg  to  be  permitted  to  remain  a  little  longer 
free  from  such  unwelcome  restraints  and  burden- 
some observances.  Yes,  ye  worldly-minded  souls, 
ye  lovers  of  vanity,  ye  spirits  enslaved  to  the  god 
of  this  world,  you  are  this  moment  shrinking  from 
the  offer  of  deliverance,  and  falling  back  into 
your  beloved  bondage.  This  moment  you  are 
holding  back  your  hearts  from  the  delights  of  a 
reasonable  worship,  and  from  the  sanctities  of 
regeneration,  and  from  the  bliss  of  a  Saviour's 
love ;  and  pressing  them  down  to  a  debasing  idola- 
try of  phantoms,  or  plunging  them  still  deeper  into 
ungodly  apathy.  This  moment  you  are  conscious 
of  the  total  absence  from  your  breasts  of  all  those 
holy  dispositions  which  can  render  God  an  agree- 
able theme  of  meditation,  and  the  joys  of  salvation 
congenial  satisfactions ;  and  you  are  conscious  of 
the  presence  of  those  tendencies  and  leanings  of 


I 


GODS  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  lyO 

soul,  which  are  completing  your  captivity  to  the 
power  of  darkness.  And  yet,  when  we  press  upon 
your  attention  the  necessity  of  conversion,  and 
entreat  you  to  obey  at  once  the  voice  of  God,  to 
repent  instantly,  and  seek  protection  under  the 
blood  of  atonement,  you  seem  to  think  that  some 
power  greater  than  that  which  now  impels  you 
must  be  waited  for  and  felt,  before  you  will  be 
reconciled  to  so  great  a  change.  In  other  words, 
religion  in  your  view  is  a  thing  so  dreadful  that 
you  can  never  be  persuaded  to  it.  If  you  are 
driven  to  it,  are  forced  into  submission,  then  you 
will  endeavour  to  be  resigned  to  your  lot.  Sinners, 
it  is  precisely  thus  that  matters  stand  betwixt  you 
and  your  eternal  Judge.  Your  earth-born  hearts 
will  not  relinquish  their  attachments.  Your  lovers 
you  have,  and  after  them  you  will  go.  That  God 
who  takes  no  pleasure  in  your  death,  is  the  wit- 
ness and  the  opposer  of  your  desperation.  Not 
much  longer  will  he  resist  your  madness,  not 
much  longer  will  he  endure  the  insulting  infidelity 
of  your  hearts.  Of  one  thing,  however,  you  can- 
not suppress  the  conviction.  Every  step  you  take 
in  your  journey  towards  destruction,  is  contrary 
to  the  will  of  God.  Understand  and  appreciate 
this  truth  now,  and  do  not  travel  all  the  way  to 
hell  to  find  it  out.  Once  you  are  locked  up  in 
the  eternal  darkness,  are  consigned  to  the  impri- 
sonment of  eternal  despair,  and  tortured  with  the 


OQ  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

raging  fires  of  avenging  justice,  you  will  feel, 
when  too  late,  that  you  are  indebted  solely  to 
yourselves  for  the  sad  doom.  So  long  as  forms  of 
horror  shall  haunt  and  terrify  your  spirits,  and 
fierce  passions  shall  prey  upon  them,  and  inexora- 
ble despair  shall  hold  them  with  its  tyrant  grasp, 
and  tormenting  fiends,  nurtured  in  your  own 
bosoms,  shall  exult  and  raven  amid  the  weeping 
and  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth  in  the  horrible 
pit,  so  long  will  remain  fastened  upon  your  hearts 
the  conviction  that  your  perdition  is  of  yourselves. 
You  mean  to  remain  unjust,  ungodly, — unrecon- 
ciled to  your  own  happiness  and  salvation.  Your- 
selves, then,  are  planting  the  fangs  of  the  viper  in 
your  own  bosoms.  Show  some  mercy  to  your- 
selves, I  beseech  you,  and  desist  from  the  bad 
enterprise  of  self-immolation  to  the  prince  of  hell. 
Look  forward  a  little,  and  see  yourselves  in  eter- 
nity with  unrepented  sins.  Light  and  peace  have 
disappeared.  Time's  beguiling  pleasures  and  re- 
curring enjoyments  have  ceased  for  ever.  Friend- 
ship's soflening  sympathies,  and  society's  cheering 
smile,  and  humanity's  mitigating  touch,  have  all 
vanished  from  the  dismal  scene.  The  voice  of 
mercy  has  ceased,  and  love's  redeeming  work  has 
been  completed.  You  are  then  sad  spectacles  of 
hopeless  wretchedness;  abandoned  to  your  sins, 
lefl  with  your  tormenters  within  you,  capable  of 
misery  and  incapable  of  comfort,  you  are  prepared 


GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  gj 

for  all  the  complex  sufferings  of  a  ruined  soul. 
The  end  is  one  of  your  own  seeking,  the  bed  of 
sorrow  on  which  you  lie  writhing,  but  not  reposing, 
is  made  by  your  own  hands.  All  hell  resounds 
with  the  justice  of  God.  All  heaven  proclaims 
his  righteousness. 

The  same  effort  of  mercy  which  has  designed 
and  intended  your  conversion,  would  have  been 
sufficient  to  reclaim  unto  God,  sinners  of  the  vilest 
character  in  any  age.  Had  Christ  been  preached 
to  the  Cities  of  the  Plain,  as  he  has  been  preached 
to  you,  their  men  would  have  fallen  at  his  feet  in 
sackcloth  and  ashes,  with  the  renunciation  of  their 
sins.  Had  Tyre  and  Sidon  heard  the  faithful 
warnings  which  have  resounded  vainly  in  your 
ears,  their  reformation  would  have  been  secured, 
and  impending  judgments  averted.  All  the  idola- 
ters, all  the  stock  and  stone  worshippers  of  the 
heathen  world,  can  afford  no  examples  of  impiety 
to  parallel  yours.  The  men  of  Nineveh  shall  rise 
up  in  judgment  and  condemn  you,  for  they  repented 
at  the  preaching  of  Jonas,  "  and  behold  a  greater 
than  Jonas  is  here."  The  millions  of  apostate 
Asia,  the  millions  of  imbruted  Africa,  the  mil- 
lions of  all  times  and  countries  that  have  died  and 
will  die,  without  ever  having  had  knowledge  of 
mercy's  provisions,  will  supply  no  instances  of 
guilt  so  malignant,  nor  of  a  curse  so  aggravated, 
as  you  who  reject  Christ.     But,  although  so  much 


§2  GOD'S  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE. 

has  been  done  for  you  without  effect,  yet  the 
mercy  of  God  still  procrastinates  your  doom,  and 
allows  you  space  for  repentance.  He  causes  the 
tender  of  forgiveness  to  be  renewed  to  you  time 
after  time,  and  shows  it  to  be  his  will  that  you 
should  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and 
obtain  eternal  salvation.  Accept,  then,  without 
delay,  that  mercy  which  waits  for  your  acceptance. 
Cast  yourselves  down  into  suppliant  lowliness  be- 
fore the  Lord,  and  melt  into  contrition  and  godly 
sorrow.  Correct  your  wrong  calculations  and  es- 
timates as  to  the  things  of  time ;  study  and  appre- 
ciate the  requisitions  of  God  upon  you,  acquaint 
yourselves  with  the  grace  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  and  submit  all  that  is  most  dear  to 
you,  to  his  care  and  disposal.  Have  you  cavilled 
at  the  doctrines  of  grace  ?  Have  you  sought  to 
palliate  your  criminality  in  neglecting  Christ,  by 
holding  before  you  the  pretexts  of  theological  doubt 
and  disputation  ?  Have  you  flattered  yourselves 
that  because  there  is  a  controversy  among  men 
respecting  free  grace  and  free  will,  the  Lord's 
work  in  the  hearts  of  sinners,  and  their  work  in 
conformity  with  his;  predestination  and  free 
agency;  a  partial  salvation  according  to  grace, 
and  the  indiscriminate  proposal  of  salvation  to  all 
men ;  you  may  quietly  wait  until  all  these  matters 
shall  cease  to  be  controverted?  You  have  devised 
an  expedient  most  fatal  to  your  salvation.    If  you 


GODS  GRACIOUS  PURPOSE.  g^ 

intend  to  delay  your  compliance  with  the  com- 
mands of  God  mitil  human  minds  shall  cease  to 
perplex  them  with  the  boasted  refinements  of 
reason,  you  will  never  obey.  Such  a  disposition 
as  that,  almost  foretells  your  certain  destiny.  Like 
an  opiate,  it  stupifies  your  conscience,  and  leaves 
moral  sensibility  torpid,  if  not  dead.  Rouse  your- 
selves from  the  guilty  sloth  of  perishing  nature, 
shake  off  the  stupefaction  of  insidious  error,  and, 
obey,  I  beseech  you,  the  voice  of  God,  which 
cites  your  souls  to  the  finished  redemption  of 
Jesus,  as  your  only  hope  and  refuge. 


SERMON  IV. 

NO   EQUIVALENT   FOR   THE   SOUL. 
Mat.  xvi.  26. — What  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul ! 

The  soul?  what  is  it?  Where  does  it  dwell, 
what  are  its  parts  and  properties  ?  Has  any  man 
seen  it,  or  handled  it,  or  heard  its  voice  ?  Is  it 
known  to  exist,  and  to  possess  the  astonishing  ca- 
pacities here  presupposed  ?  Indeed,  this  illus- 
trious guest,  which  came  from  the  breath  of  God 
to  sojourn  in  these  fleshly  tabernacles,  has  been  so 
debased  by  earth  and  corruption,  so  disfigured 
and  mangled  by  the  madness  of  our  sin  and  folly ; 
that  it  may  be  difficult  to  know  it,  and  hard  to 
identify  it,  through  all  the  rubbish  of  fallen  nature 
that  surrounds  it.  At  first,  God  gave  it  wings  to 
fly  back  to  him,  and  flight  was  natural  and  easy. 
Upwards  was  its  native  tendency.  But  these 
wings  are  pinioned  now,  and  the  once  lofl;y  spirit 
flutters  upon  the  earth.  Here  it  buries  itself  in 
the  dust,  and  its  wings,  once  Hke  the  eagle's,  and 
its  feathers,  like  the  yellow  gold,  have  contracted 


NO  EQUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL.  gg 

a  dismal  stain,  by  lying  among  the  pots.  Ps. 
Ixviii.  13.  To  add  to  it  new  wings,  and  to  bur- 
nish its  plmnage  for  a  new  flight,  was  a  leading 
design  of  the  Saviour's  visit  to  our  world.  He 
therefore  tells  how  much  the  soul  is  worth,  lifts 
up  the  dejected  and  degraded  wanderer,  and 
urges  its  escape  from  the  windy  storm.  He 
teaches  us  that  there  is  no  equivalent  for  the 

SOUL. 

1.  For  it  is  the  seat  of  the  keenest  feeling.  We 
have  indeed,  a  corporeal  sensation,  arising  from 
the  surprising  structure  of  our  frame.  The  wise 
Maker  has  left  the  whole  body  sensitive  and  ten- 
der, and  hence  at  every  point  we  are  warned  of 
approaching  danger.  But  the  keenest  feeling 
dwells  not  in  the  body.  It  may  be  dismem- 
bered, and  yet  endured;  its  form  may  be  dis- 
torted with  strong  pain,  and  yet  patience  may 
bear  up  under  the  convulsion ;  it  may  bleed  at 
every  pore,  and  still  a  lofty  fortitude  may  sustain 
the  shattered  wreck  of  nature;  but  a  wounded 
spirit  who  can  bear  ?  Some  opiate  may  lull,  some 
balm  may  soothe,  some  emollient  may  calm  the 
troubled  body,  but  what  medicine  can  reach  the 
soul  ?  AVhat  balm  can  allay  the  aching  of  the 
bruised  spirit?  What  art  of  healing  can  reach 
the  sick  and  fainting  heart  which  feels  with  keen 
anguish  its  own  wretchedness  ?  In  every  case  it 
is  the  soul  that  feels.     That  passion  which  in  a 

8 


Qg  NO  EaUlVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL. 

moment  changes  a  reasonable  being  into  a  ma- 
niac, which  confounds  and  agitates  the  inward 
seat  of  thought  and  sobriety,  and  turns  up  side  down 
the  Httle  world  within  us,  is  one  of  the  piercing 
sensations  of  the  soul.  This  is  its  seat,  and  dwell- 
ing-place. That  remorse  which  sometimes  seems 
to  gnaw  the  very  vitals  of  our  being,  which  drives 
back  the  fangs  of  grief  upon  the  most  tender 
parts,  which  has  so  often  consumed  the  life  of 
man,  dwells  in  the  soul.  There,  too,  reside  the 
wasting  cares  which  eat  with  incessant  corrosion 
the  strength  of  nature,  which  irritate  with  fever- 
ish excitement  all  the  plans  and  thoughts  of  the 
heart.  Pale  fear,  frantic  despair,  and  sullen 
discontent,  are  all  inhabitants  of  the  soul.  To 
the  same  seat  must  also  be  referred,  whatever  is 
of  an  opposite  character.  If  the  thrill  of  joy  is 
ever  felt,  if  peace  ever  soothes,  if  music  ever 
transports,  if  love  ever  warms,  if  friendship  ever 
charms,  the  soul  is  the  seat  of  these  feelings. 
The  feeling  is  not  in  the  eye  nor  in  the  ear  ;  these 
are  only  the  inlets  of  sensation,  material  organs 
which  are  incapable  of  feeling. 

Our  Lord  makes  an  obvious  difference  between 
the  feeling  of  the  soul  and  the  body,  when  he  for- 
bids the  fear  of  those  who  can  only  kill  the  body, 
and  enjoins  the  fear  of  Him,  who  after  he  hath 
killed,  hath  power  to  cast  into  hell.  What  keen 
feeling  does  he  demonstrate,  to  have  existed  in 


NO  EQUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL. 


87 


the  rich  man  who  lifted  up  his  eyes  in  hell,  being 
in  torment.   And  he  likewise  represents  the  acute 
and  sensible  anguish  of  the  spirit,  as  the  worm 
that  dies  not,  and  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched. 
In  his  own  sorrows,  the  compassionate  Saviour 
has  exemplified  the  truth  before  us.     He  uttered 
no  complaint  about  the  uncommon  sufferings  of 
his  body,  though  these  were  intense  beyond  expres- 
sion; he  did,  however,   utter  in  relation  to  his 
soul,  this  declaration  to  be  remembered  for  ever, 
"  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful  even  unto  death." 
The  keen  sensation  of  which  the  sOul  is  capable 
may  be  further  seen  by  the  effects  produced  on  it 
by  causes  foreign  to  itself.     What  surprising  ef- 
fect may  be  produced  by  the  simple  sound  of  the 
human  voice.      Such  a  sound   representing   the 
feelings,  the  judgment,   the   knowledge   of   him 
who  speaks,  may  in  a  moment  confound  our  fa- 
culties, or  throw  us  into  transports,  or  sink  us  into 
dejection,  or  swell  with  rapid  throbs  the  tide  that 
rolls  through  the  heart,  or  allay  the  inward  per- 
turbation of  grief.     What  is  the  seat  of  these  as- 
tonishing changes,  if  it  be  not  the  soul  ?    On  what 
tables  are  these  impressions  engraven,  if  not  on 
the  table  of  the  heart  ? 

Conviction  for  sin,  is  a  cutting  of  the  heart. 
The  effect  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  is  as  that  of  the 
two-edged  sword,  keen  and  piercing  even  to  the 
dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit.     Men  have 


OO  NO  EaUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL. 

been  known  to  die  both  of  joy  and  grief,  and  thus 
the  principle  that  the  soul  is  the  seat  of  the  most 
sensible  and  acute  feeling,  is  fully  confirmed.  The 
body  seems  only  as  a  lodge  in  which  the  soul  is 
abiding  for  a  night,  and  very  often,  its  actings  and 
movements  convulse  the  clay-fabric  in  which  it 
sojourns. 

2.  The  soul  is  the  seat  of  the  most  durable 
feeling.  Take  as  an  example  the  power  and  du- 
rability of  conscience.  A  wound  once  inflicted 
upon  it  never  ceases  to  be  felt.  You  that  have 
ever  been  so  unhappy  as  to  wound  your  con- 
science can  affirm  this  truth.  You  may  have 
changed  your  climate  from  the  parched  regions  of 
the  south  to  the  wintry  scenes  of  the  north,  or  you 
may  have  left  the  ice-bound  north,  to  dwell  in  the 
glowing  fields  and  blooming  lands  of  a  more  ge- 
nial clime ;  but  still  the  barbed  arrow  has  remain- 
ed rankling  in  your  heart,  and  the  pain  has  fol- 
lowed you  through  all  the  changes  of  your  abode. 
Conscience  may  indeed  be  lulled,  or  seared  as 
with  a  hot  iron,  and  its  feeling  may  seem  to  be 
entirely  gone,  but  it  has  the  surprising  power  of 
recovering  itself,  and  of  resuming  its  former 
vigour  and  feeling ;  it  does  not  so  sleep  on  its  myr- 
tle bed,  as  not  to  mark  in  its  faithful  diary  all 
that  history  which  in  the  day  of  judgment  it  must 
read  aloud  before  assembled  millions.  You  who 
abuse  and  outrage  this  faithful  recorder  of  all  your 


NO  EQUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL.  gg 

misdeeds,  think  with  yourselves,  what  surprising 
horror  it  will  strike  into  your  inmost  souls,  when 
you  shall  be  compelled  to  hear,  every  page  and 
every  line,  read  as  with  the  voice  of  thunder  in 
that  day  when  the  "books  shall  be  opened?" 
Think  of  your  approaching  dread,  and  speechless 
agony,  when  every  act,  and  every  enormity,  and 
every  secret  sin,  and  every  forgotten  abomination, 
shall  be  brought  up  as  fresh  to  your  memory,  as 
if  committed  but  at  that  moment.  Think  of  the 
scorpion  stings  with  which  an  angry  conscience 
inflamed  by  the  sins  of  a  whole  hfe,  will  pierce 
your  souls.  Think  too  of  the  final  impossibility 
of  that  which,  in  such  despair,  can  promise  any 
mitigation ;  and  that  will  be  ceasing  to  feel  ?  But 
how  will  you  cease  to  feel  ?  Will  you  then  mix 
for  yourselves  a  dose,  and  drink  eternal  forgetful- 
ness  to  all  the  keen  and  cutting  reflections  which 
shall  then  torment  your  spirits?  No  mixture 
shall  then  quiet  the  baleful  stirrings  of  conscience. 

Not  only  is  the  soul  the  seat  of  that  conscience 
which  shall  be  roused  from  all  its  slumbers  on  the 
last  day,  but  it  is  also  the  seat  of  that  power  of 
THINKING  which  no  duration  can  destroy. 

It  is  thought  that  carries  us  back  to  the  foun- 
dations of  the  world :  that  loses  itself  in  the  im- 
measurable abyss  of  a  past  eternity.  Thought 
can  dwell  amid  the  past  ages  of  man,  and  can 

8* 


Q0  NO  EaUlVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL. 

trace  down  his  history  in  the  current  of  time,  till 
lost  in  eternity's  ocean.  It  can  stretch  its  ar- 
dent wing  into  that  awful  space  of  endless  being, 
in  which  we  must  dwell  for  ever.  Consider  this 
with  yourselves,  that  you  cannot  cease  to  think. 
Your  deathless  thought  must  roam  and  act  in  the 
world  to  come.  Thither  must  fly  the  winged  off- 
spring of  every  immortal  soul,  and  there  must  float 
in  circles  of  eternal  space.  Consider  what  a 
source  of  happiness  or  misery,  of  delight  or  wo, 
of  transport  or  of  gloom,  the  thoughts  may  now 
be  made.  To  many,  life  has  not  so  great  burden 
as  the  necessity  of  grave  or  serious  thought. 
Give  them  the  thoughts  in  which  they  take  plea- 
sure, allow  them  the  unhallowed  fancies  in  which 
it  is  their  joy  to  wander  from  object  to  object,  and 
all  is  well: — but  let  the  unwelcome  thought  of 
other  things  be  forced  upon  them,  and  they  are 
immediately  wretched.  How  then  can  you  tell, 
vain  and  sinful  mortals,  of  any  way  to  escape  the 
necessity  of  thinking  in  the  world  whither  you 
haste?  Peradventure,  it  may  be  the  plan  of  the 
Almighty  to  punish  rational  and  intelligent  natures 
by  means  of  those  very  faculties  which  they  so 
much  abuse.  Those  thoughts  which  now  trans- 
port you  with  such  rapidity  through  the  immense 
universe  may,  for  aught  you  know,  be  changed  into 
phantoms  of  eternal  horror,  may  be  transformed 


NO  EQUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL.  Ql 

into  hideous  spectres,  which  shall  congeal  your 
spirit  with  dread,  and  affright  your  soul  with  the 
terrors  of  everlasting  darkness. 

But  we  have  said,  as  an  evidence  of  the  import- 
ance of  the  soul,  that  it  is  the  seat  of  the  most  du- 
rable thought.     Such  an  idea  leads  you  at  once 
to  the  mysterious  and  interminable   exercise  of 
thought,  when   employed   about   eternity.      You 
know  how  soon  reason  and  intellect  are  lost  in  the 
vastness  of  such  a  subject,  and  yet  you  will  per- 
ceive that  it  is  a  subject  about  which  your  thoughts 
may  be  eternally  employed  without  finding  a  con- 
clusion on  which  they  may  pause.     The  philoso- 
pher, who  being  asked  what  God  was,  took  a  day 
to  reflect,  and  then  asked  for  another  day,  and  af- 
terwards  requested  still  more  time,  made  it  evi- 
dent that  he  had  begun  an  infinite  work.  Thought, 
like  the  vitals  of  the  fabled  Prometheus,  must  for 
ever  repair  its  own  waste,  and  is  the  only  mea- 
sure of  eternity  which  therefore  becomes  the  the- 
atre  on  which   it   will   expatiate    without    end. 
What  then  can  be  an  equivalent  for  the  nature 
iand  essence  of  that  soul  which  is  the  seat  of  such 
an  astonishing  capacity?     What  calculation  can 
ever  reach  the  possible  happiness  of  that  spiritual 
nature  which  must  live  through  the  mighty  exten- 
sion of  an  endless  duration  ?    What  numbers  can 
compute  the  sum  of  that  blessedness  which  shall 
dwell  in  those  delighted   thoughts  that  wander 


qn  NO  EQUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL. 

through  immensity, — that  blessedness  which  shall 
consist  in  the  festal  glories  of  reason,  in  the  har- 
mony and  purity  of  the  passions,  in  the  holy  ab- 
straction of  the  soul  from  all  sense  and  sinfulness, 
— that  blessedness  which  derives  its  peculiar  cha- 
racter from  its  perpetuity,  and  its  perpetuity  from 
God. 

On  the  other  hand,  what  can  be  imagined  as  an 
equivalent  for  such  a  bliss  ?  What  is  the  consi- 
deration for  which  a  man  might  lawfully  barter 
such  a  happiness  ?  What  could  be  accepted  as  a 
substitute  ?  The  world  ?  That  is  the  seat  of  cor- 
ruptible things,  of  transient  feeling  and  dull  per- 
ception.    Its  fashion  passes  away. 

But  the  danger  and  the  difficulty  which  you 
must  meet,  in  attempting  to  find  an  equivalent  for 
the  soul,  will  not  be,  that  you  may  get  something 
in  lieu  thereof,  which,  though  inferior,  may  yet 
content  your  desires,  and  satisfy  your  expectations. 
In  this  case  there  is  no  wide  range  of  objects  amid 
which  you  can  make  a  choice,  no  rich  varieties  on 
which  you  may  exercise  your  power  of  selection. 
The  objects  of  choice  are  only  two.  Only  two 
things  can  be  found  in  heaven,  earth  or  hell,  of 
sufficient  length  or  breadth  to  measure  the  soul. 
Only  two  things  which  may  be  exchanged,  the  one 
for  the  other.  These  two  things  are  eternal  hap- 
piness and  eternal  wo.  If  you  seek  a  substitute 
for  heaven,  hell  is  the  alternative.     Hell  must  be 


NO  EaUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL.  QO 

taken  in  exchange,  and  must  be  the  result  of  your 
choice.  The  keenness  of  feeHng  and  the  dura- 
bihty  of  feeUng  which  you  have  seen  to  have  a 
permanent  and  unalterable  seat  in  the  soul,  have 
nothing  commensurate,  short  of  endless  joy  or 
endless  wretchedness. 

You  therefore  think  at  random,  when  you  ima- 
gine that  you  may  resign  the  hope  of  heaven,  and 
yet  count  upon  some  lower  rank  of  felicity.  No 
doubt,  you  worldlings,  would  gladly  take  up  with 
the  offer  of  a  perpetual  title  and  guarantee  for  the 
possession  of  the  life  that  now  is,  on  the  proviso 
that  you  would  bid  adieu  to  heaven.  Even  though 
you  had  but  a  small  portion  of  this  world,  yet  if 
you  could  think  it  a  fee  simple  inheritance,  you 
would  not  long  hesitate  in  abandoning  heaven  for 
it.  But  what  am  I  saying  ?  You  abandon  heaven 
for  the  short,  precarious,  and  miserable  pittance 
which  you  are  now  receiving.  For  the  sake  of  a  few 
fields  or  houses,  or  land,  or  a  little  merchandise, 
you  appear  to  have  said,  farewell  heaven.  God, 
however,  allows  you  but  a  short  hold  upon  these 
things,  and  then  you  let  go  for  ever,  and  have,  in- 
stead of  the  heaven  of  the  righteous,  your  portion 
with  the  nations  that  forget  God. 

3.  The  consequences  involved  in  the  being  and 
immortality  of  the  soul,  place  it  beyond  all  price. 

So  far  as  we  may  be  allowed  to  judge,  the  soul 
is  the  most  curious  and  exalted  piece  of  the  divine 


g4  NO  EaUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL. 

workmanship.  This  may  be  inferred  from  its  spi- 
ritual nature,  from  its  effects  and  operations  so 
manifest,  and  from  its  principles  and  attributes  so 
mysterious ;  from  its  surprising  connexion  with  the 
body,  and  its  independence  of  it,  from  its  fitness 
for  the  employments  of  time  and  of  eternity.  It 
forms  the  connecting  link  betwixt  both  worlds, 
animating  and  moving  this  sluggish  frame  of  mat- 
ter, and  stretching  forward  its  spiritual  forecast 
into  the  invisible  world.  God  has  appeared  to 
affix  to  it  his  own  signature,  and  to  claim  it  for 
himself. 

One  of  the  first  grand  consequences,  then,  in- 
volved in  its  being  and  capacity,  is  the  glory  of  the 
maker.  He  has  indeed  so  constructed  all  his 
works,  as  to  draw  from  them'  according  to  the 
nature  of  each,  a  revenue  of  praise.  In  the  vast, 
and  in  the  minute,  in  the  order  and  in  the  confu- 
sion of  nature,  in  the  high  and  the  low  of  his 
works,  he  has  placed  a  silent  meaning  which 
sounds  in  reason's  ear.  But  none  of  these  things 
look  up  so  directly  to  him  as  the  sublime  spirit  of 
man.  On  none  has  he  placed  a  quality  so  trans- 
parent for  the  showing  of  his  own  character.  Con- 
sider with  yourselves  how  many  are  the  ways  of 
glorification  by  which  the  soul  may  go  out  to  God. 
In  gratitude  for  his  mercies  it  tells  the  honours  of 
the  great  Benefactor.  For  what  sight  can  be  more 
affecting,  than  that  of  a   feeling  heart,  bending 


NO  EQUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL.  (\^ 

with  humble  thankfulness  under  the  sense  of  God's 
manifold  goodness?  a  goodness  which  no  created 
capacity  can  ever  fathom;  but  which  is  better 
understood  and  respected  according  to  the  better 
sense  and  reason  of  those  who  receive  it.  The 
gratitude  of  the  whole  creation  to  the  great  Maker 
is,  no  doubt,  a  tribute  which  he  graciously  accepts ; 
but  no  return  from  the  works  of  his  hands  can 
have  such  significancy  as  that  of  the  thankful 
effusions  of  the  human  soul.  "  Bless  the  Lord,  O 
my  soul,"  is  a  sound  which  surpasses  in  sweetness 
and  magnificence  the  shouts  of  the  morning  stars. 
Behold,  then,  O  thinking,  reasoning  man,  how 
much  value  thy  God  hath  set  upon  the  offerings  of 
thy  spirit.  God  has  lefl  in  thy  hands  the  weighty 
charge  of  his  own  honour  and  glory.  You  may, 
if  you  please,  despise  the  consideration,  and  in- 
stead of  sending  up  to  him  the  returns  upon  which 
he  has  suspended  his  glory,  you  may  exert  the 
time  and  the  talents  which  he  has  given  you,  in 
acts  of  abuse  and  profanation. 

You  can,  if  you  please,  deny  him  every  claim, 
and  affront  his  majesty  in  every  way  which  a  sin- 
ful nature  would  suggest,  and  he  will  lose  nothing 
from  the  grand  total  of  his  glory.  But  it  is  you 
that  have  every  thing  to  lose,  and  in  coming  short 
of  the  glory  of  God,  you  come  short  of  the  only 
salvation.  In  falling  short  of  his  glory,  you  fall 
short  of  happiness,  and  of  the  blissful  immortality. 


an  NO  EaUIVALENT  FOR  THE  SOUL. 

Nor  ought  you  lightly  to  reckon  such  a  loss  as 
this.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  think  of,  and  will  be 
infinitely  more  fearful  to  see  and  feel.  How 
should  it  rouse  your  slumbering  spirit  with  anxious 
dread  to  think  of  an  eternal  separation  from  God 
and  heaven — to  view  that  pit  of  pitchy  darkness, 
from  which  rises  the  smoke  of  an  eternal  torment. 
To  look  over  that  scene  of  unspeakable  horror 
which  the  suffering  of  guilty  spirits  shall  exhibit ; 
and  to  hear  cries  of  despair,  and  wailings  of 
anguish,  the  clanking  of  everlasting  chains,  and 
the  cursing  of  malignant  demons.  How  will  you 
bear  to  be  shut  out  for  ever  from  light,  and  peace, 
and  hope,  to  breathe  in  regions  of  baleful  wo,  the 
vapour  of  smoke  mingled  with  liquid  fire?  But 
this  must  be  your  portion  if  the  soul  be  lost.  To 
converse  with  groans  unrespited,  to  sink  in  un- 
abated flames,  must  be  your  inevitable  doom,  if  at 
last  found  without  hope  and  without  God. 


SERMON    V. 

THE    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    TRINITY. 

1  Tim.  iii.  16. — God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh. 
John  xvi.  13. — When  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide 
you  into  all  truth. 

The  unity  of  God,  is  the  first  truth  to  be  re- 
ceived by  one  inquiring  after  rehgion.  "  The 
Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord,"  is  a  primary  and 
fundamental  proposition,  and  must  be  placed  first 
among  the  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God.  Con- 
sonant with  this  prevailing  idea  of  Scripture,  is 
that  suggested  by  the  whole  order  of  the  material 
universe.  In  this  there  is  observable  a  unity  of 
design,  a  unity  of  parts  composing  the  whole,  a 
unity  of  consent  betwixt  all  the  members  of  one 
mighty  system ;  and  from  all  the  individual  opera- 
tions of  those  members  a  resulting  unity  of  effect. 
The  doctrines  of  the  Bible  on  this  subject,  are 
thus  in  admirable  accordance  with  the  testimonies 
of  reason  and  nature,  and  authorise  the  inference 

9 


Qg  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

that  the  Bible  itself  is  true  to  the  constitution  of 
nature.* 

It  must  be  remarked,  however,  that  the  idea  of 
simple  unity  in  the  Godhead,  is  connected  in 
Scripture  with  that  of  plurality,  or  rather  of  tri- 
plicity,  and  that  both  unity  and  triplicity  combin- 
ing in  ONE,  are  there  asserted  without  any  sup- 
position of  a  possible  disagreement  in  the  matter 
of  such  a  conception.  To  say,  as  some  do,  that 
this  triple  unity  is  discerned  and  appreciated  by  rea- 
son itself,  is  more  than  we  could  venture  to  assert, 
because  we  can  discover  no  direct  way  for  arriv- 
ing at  such  a  conclusion ;  but  we  can  safely  assert 
that  reason  neither  forbids  nor  invalidates  it.  An 
overwhelming  evidence  of  Revelation  forces  it 
upon  the  belief  of  minds  unsophisticated  by  the 
imaginary  demands  of  reason ;  and  such  minds 
consider  it  more  reasonable  to  believe  what  the 
Bible  clearly  teaches,  than  to  yield  to  those 
alleged  requisitions  of  reason,  which,  at  best,  are 
doubtful,  and,  in  all  probability,  are  spurious  and 
visionary.  For,  in  sustaining  its  pretensions  to 
the  character  of  divine  yispiration,  the  Bible  does 

*  A  modern  division  of  professing  Christian?,  have,  I  believe,  styled 
themselves  Unitarians;  for  the  purpose,  I  presume,  of  avoiding  the 
earlier  name  of  Socinians.  But  Unitarian  is  a  name  to  which  they 
are  not  exclusively  entitled,  since  the  orthodox  are  as  much  Unitarians 
as  themselves,  with  reference  to  the  unity  of  the  Divine  Being. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  QQ 

satisfy  the  reason  of  every  one  whose  intelligence 
is  iniperverted.  While,  on  the  other  hand, 
those  who  undertake  to  sustain  their  misnamed 
reason  in  opposition  to  the  Scriptures,  cannot  fully 
satisfy  themselves  that  they  are  right.  To  deny 
the  divinity  and  personality  of  Christ  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  out  of  complaisance  to  a  reason, 
manufactured,  peradventure,  in  the  murky  atmos- 
phere of  impure  passion,  is  doing  homage  to  a 
phantom,  at  a  fearful  sacrifice. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  speciousness  in  the  positions 
of  those  who  argue  against  the  triunity  of  the  God- 
head ;  but  follow  them  out  to  their  conclusions,  and 
you  will  detect  their  unfair  dealing.  It  is  alleged 
by  them  to  be  an  impossibility,  that  three  should 
be  but  one  ;  that  such  a  proposition  is  contrary  to 
the  common  reason  of  mankind,  because  it  implies 
a  contradiction.  The  unfairness  of  this  applica- 
tion of  their  principle  lies  here :  It  charges  upon 
trinitarians  the  absurdity  of  maintaining  that  three 
is  one,  numerically  and  distinctly  considered.  This 
they  do  not  assert ;  but  they  do  assert,  that  three 
is  one  in  the  equality  and  identity  of  nature  and 
attributes,  and  that  by  consequence  one  are  three 
in  the  personal  relations  of  the  Godhead,  to  all 
created  beings,  and  to  Deity  himself. 

Before  we  can  prove  a  proposition  to  be  absurd, 
it  is  obvious  that  we  must  have  a  clear  perception 
of«the  mutual  relations   of  its  component  parts. 


I  QQ  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

If,  for  example,  it  was  asserted,  that  two  parallel 
lines  would  meet,  if  prolonged  to  a  certain  point, 
we  have  an  intuitive  certainty  that  this  never  can 
be  the  case,  the  mutual  relation  of  these  lines  is 
such,  that  they  never  cari  meet.  But  if  we  behold 
a  certain  number  of  lines,  running  for  a  considera- 
ble distance  separately  from  each  other,  and  at 
length  lost  in  a  mist;  if,  moreover,  we  had  no 
means  of  ascertaining  with  accuracy  whether  they 
proceeded  in  a  parallel,  diverging,  or  approximat- 
ing direction ;  nay,  if  to  the  very  best  of  our  judg- 
ment, they  appeared  to  be  all  exactly  parallel,  we 
could  not  prove  it  to  be  an  absurdity,  if  we  heard 
it  asserted  by  credible  testimony,  that,  at  a  remote 
point,  they  met  together,  like  so  many  confluent 
streams,  and  formed  but  one  line.  Our  duty,  under 
such  circumstances,  would  evidently  be  to  admit 
the  fact,  and  acknowledge  the  fallacy  of  our  pre- 
vious conclusion,  a  conclusion  founded  upon  the 
imperfection  of  our  visual  powers. 

We  readily  allow  that  the  doctrine  under  con- 
sideration, may  be  proposed  in  such  terms,  and 
represented  in  such  an  order,  as  to  imply  an  abso- 
lute contradiction;  nor  would  we  deny  that  its 
maintainers  sometimes  view  and  express  it  in 
such  an  order.  When,  therefore,  this  mysterious 
tenet  is  formally  stated  in  language  which  seems 
best  adapted  to  Scripture  phraseology,  language 
at  the  best  very  inadequate  to  the  subject,  its  can- 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  JQJ 

did  oppugners  take  the  liberty  of  giving  their  own 
meaning  to  the  terms  employed,  and  are  on  the 
alert  with  an  array  of  quibbling  analogies,  by 
which  they  pretend  to  prove  its  impossibility. 

It  requires  no  great  depth  of  discernment  to 
perceive,  no  very  superior  powers  of  argumenta- 
tion to  evince,  that  three  distinct  beings  cannot 
constitute  one,  in  the  same  sense,  and  in  the  same 
relation,  in  which  they  are  separately  one.  If 
such  a  union  of  persons,  is  what  the  champions  of 
reason  labour  to  disprove,  if  this  is  the  shadow 
with  which  our  adversaries  contend,  they  may, 
amuse  themselves  with  much  freedom;  the  de- 
fenders of  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints 
may  willingly  recede  from  the  arena,  and  allow 
them  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  triumph,  until 
they  have  learned  that  the  phantom  which  they 
had  pursued  with  so  much  zeal,  has  never  yet 
been  embodied  in  the  judgment  of  any  man  of 
common  understanding. 

But  we  may  be  asked  what  we  understand  by 

this  doctrine,  and  how  we  explain  it  in  consistency 

wdth  sound  reason  and  good  sense.  It  is  sometimes 

legitimate  to  reply  to  a  question  by  asking  another. 

When  the  chief  priests  and  elders  of  the  Jews 

came  to  the  Saviour,  and  asked,  in  reference  to 

his  miracles,  "  By  what  authority  doest  thou  these 

things,  and  who  gave  thee  this  authority  ?"     He 

retorted  upon  them  by  saying,  "  I  will  also  ask 

9# 


1  rko  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

you  one  thing,  which  if  ye  tell  me,  I,  in  like  man- 
ner, will  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  do  these 
things:  The  baptism  of  John,  whence  was  it?  Of 
heaven  or  of  men?"     Their  reply  was,  "We  can- 
not tell."     In  reference  to  the  demand  to  explain 
what  we  understand  by  the  doctrine  just  specified, 
we  may  also  say  to  our  querists :  The  principles 
of  attraction  and  repulsion  in  the  same  mass  of 
matter,  what  are  they  ?     The  two  polarities  of  the 
magnet,  how  are  they  to  be  accounted  for?     The 
positive  and  negative  electricities,  how  are  they  to 
be  explained  ?   The  infinite  diversibility  of  matter, 
and  time,  and  space,  how  is  it  to  be  rendered  pal- 
pable to  the  apprehension,  without  the  danger  of 
absurdity?     We  strongly  suspect  that  their  reply 
to  these,  and  a  hundred  more  questions  relative 
to  things  which  are  believed,  and  yet  very  imper- 
fectly understood,  must  be  that  of  the  Jewish  high 
priests,  "We  cannot  tell."     But  they  will  allege, 
in  respect  of  these  points.  We  have  the  phenome- 
na, and  we  profess  not  to  go  farther.     And  so  have 
we,  the  believer  may  answer.     Our  phenomena 
,  are  the  explicit  statements  of  him  who  is  the  truth, 
of  him  who  is  no  less  true  in  his  word,  than  he  is 
in  his  works,  and  beyond  these  we  do  not  venture 
to  advance. 

If,  therefore,  it  be  asked,  what  we  do  mean 
when  we  speak  of  three  persons  subsisting  in  the 
essence  of  Jehovah,  without  inquiring   how  far 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  J QQ 

these  terms  are  best  calculated  to  express   the 
truth,    and   without    fear    of   compromising    our 
cause,  we  frankly  confess  that  there  is  much  in 
this  scheme  that  we  do  not  understand,  and  some- 
thing that,  without  a  divine  revelation,  we  should 
have   been    inclined   to   controvert.     We    have 
learned  that  there  is  a  difference  between  absur- 
dity and  obscurity,  between  the  confined  range  of 
our  feeble  reason,  and  the  boundless  expanse  of 
infinity.  We  know  the  fallibility  of  our  own  judg- 
ment.    We  rely  on  the  unimpeachable  veracity 
of  the  Author  of  our  being.     With  these  views 
and  feelings,  we  believe  that  we  can  discover  in 
the  pages  of  Scripture  a  clear  attestation  to  these 
two  points.     That  there  is  one  supreme,  infinite 
Jehovah,   indivisible    and  incomprehensible,  and 
also  that,  in  the  essence  of  this  great  and  glorious 
Being,  there  is  a  threefold  distinction,  which  dis- 
tinction is  expressed  in  the  Bible  by  the  terms  of 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.     The  appellation 
of  persons  is  adopted  simply  because  this  word 
appears  best  suited  to  convey  the  idea  of  a  real 
agent.     But  the  order  of  combination  in  which 
these  two  apparently  discordant  points  coalesce, 
we  do  not  profess  to  understand.     We  can  form 
some  idea  of  either  separately  viewed,  but  how 
they  harmoniously  unite,  we  cannot  perceive,  just 
as  we  can  frame  some  indistinct  conception  of  the 
eternity  that  is  past,  and  the  eternity  which  is  to 


\f)4  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

come,  but  how  both  eternities,  if  we  may  use  such 
a  term,  join  together,  so  as  to  form  one  boundless 
circle  of  duration,  unmarked  by  fore  or  after,  by 
present,  past  or  future,  one  everlasting  now,  we 
cannot  clearly  comprehend.  We  are  fully  aware, 
indeed,  that  there  is  no  analogy  in  nature,  which 
can  give  a  proper  idea  of  this  truth.  Analogy, 
however,  is  no  absolute  test  of  truth,  and  we  enter 
our  decided  protest  against  its  being  employed  as 
such  in  the  present  instance.  It  has  its  uses  in 
the  illustration  and  defence  of  general  truth, 
when  applied  with  observation  and  judgment.* 
"The  specious  exhibition  of  similitudes,  neverthe- 
less, is  accustomed  to  deceive,  and  therefore  should 
be  used  with  a  sound  discretion."t 

We  now  proceed  to  prove  the  doctrine  before  us, 
by  citations  from  Scripture.  Its  defenders  hold  the 
Bible  in  their  hands,  and  pretend  not  to  produce 
any  absolute  proof  but  from  this  repository  of  light. 
This  commends  to  their  faith  what  reason  cannot 
deny  to  their  understanding.  It  demonstrates, 
where  reason  stands  doubting,  and  supplies  evi- 
dence in  which  reason  may  rejoice.  The  dictates 
of  reason  are  to  be  measured  and  tried  by  the 
word  of  God.     If  those  dictates  be  true  there  will 


*  Davies'  Estimate  of  the  Intellectual  Powers, 
t  Solent  tamen,  fallere  similitudinum  species,  ideoque  ahibendum  est 
his  judicium. — Quintillian. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  JQg 

be  no  disagreement ;  if  fal-e,  disagreement  between 
the  two  will  be  inevitable.  Shall  that,  then,  which 
reason  seems  to  teach,  be  opposed  to  that  which 
revelation  clearly  teaches?  Shall  an  apparent 
contradiction,  on  the  part  of  the  former,  be  relied 
on,  to  overturn  the  established  verities  of  the  lat- 
ter ?  Men  may  imagine  that  they  hear  the  voice 
of  reason  condemning  the  doctrine  of  three  per- 
sons in  the  Godhead.  Are  they  quite  certain 
it  is  reason's  voice  they  hear?  Does  not  the 
Bible  speak  more  audibly  and  explicitly  in  favour 
of  that  doctrine,  than  reason  against  it  ?  and  is  it 
not  more  suitable  to  unbiased  rationality  to  regard 
the  testimony  of  Scripture  as  really  and  truly  the 
voice  of  God,  than  to  exalt  to  that  dignity  the  sus- 
pected intimations  of  fallible  and  erring  reason? 
We  have  moral  certainty  that  the  Bible  is  the 
voice  of  God.  We  also  have  moral  certainty  that 
true  reason  never  contradicts  that  voice.  When- 
ever, therefore,  there  is  a  contradiction,  we  must 
conclude  that  it  proceeds  from  false,  and  not  true 
reason.  In  proceeding  to  exhibit  the  Scripture 
testimony  in  confirmation  of  the  idea  of  triplicity 
in  the  Godhead,  your  attention  is  directed — 

1.  To  those  inspired  sentences  which  represent 
the  Deity  as  subsisting  in  three  distinct  persons. 
These  portions  of  Scripture  are  not  so  remarkable 
for  the  frequency  of  their  occurrence,  as  for  their 
full  and  unambiguous  import.     It  would  seem  im- 


JQg  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

possible  for  words  to  convey  more  clearly  any  in- 
tended meaning,  than  that  which  we  find  in  the 
commission  which  Jesus   gave   to  his   Apostles, 
Mat.  xxviii.  19;   "Teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."    Those  who  were  taught 
and  who  believed  the  Gospel,  were  to  be  baptized, 
and   thus   introduced  into  the  full  profession  of 
Christianity.      By  the  terms  of  their   initiation, 
they  embraced  the  triple  idea  of  the  Godhead. 
This  doctrine  was  sounded  in  their  ears  at  the 
very  moment  when  they  felt  the  circling  wave  en- 
veloping their  bodies ;  and  when  they  once  more 
regained  their  erect  posture,  and  stood  forth  in 
the  similitude  of  the  Saviour's  resurrection.     To 
the  subjects  of  baptism  it  was  an  epitome  of  faith, 
a  condensed  form  of  the  true  creed.     It  was  their 
solemn  recognition  of  the  first  principles  of  the 
oracles  of  God,  and  was  consequently  to  remain 
as  an  elementary  truth  upon  which  their  faith  and 
obedience  were  to  be  subsequently  established. 
It  .was  a  sort  of  cardinal  point  inscribed  upon  the 
vestibule  of  the  great  temple  into  which  they  were 
entering  to  be  more  fully  taught  divine  mysteries. 
The  threefold  notion  of  the  supreme  divinity  is 
deliberately  stated  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  1  Cor. 
xii.  4,  5,  6 ;  "  Now,  there  are  diversities  of  gifts, 
but  the  same  Spirit.     And  there  are  differences 
of  administration,  but  the  same  Lord.    And  there 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  liW 

are  diversities  of  operations ;  but  it  is  the  same 
God,  that  worketh  all  in  all."     The  order  of  the 
divine  persons  is  here  inverted,  to  accommodate 
the  subject  which  the  Apostle  was  treating,  name- 
ly, the  miraculous  endowments  bestowed  by  the 
Holy   Spirit  upon  many  of  the  early  believers. 
These    extraordinary   gifts   proceeded   from   the 
third  person  in  the  Godhead,  through  the  merito- 
rious grace  and  intercession  of  the  same  Lord, 
that  is  Christ ;  and  one  and  the  same  God  the  Fa- 
ther, was  the  author  of  all  those  gracious  inwork- 
ings  by  which  their  hearts  were  subjected  to  the 
indelible  impressions  of  divine  truth.     It  may  be 
proper  to  remark  here,  that  the  forecited  passage 
is  of  the  more  value  in  supporting  the  doctrine  of 
triplicity  in  the  Divine  Being,  because  connected 
with  those  operations  and  supernatural  influences 
by  which  the  souls  of  men  were  qualified  for  the 
discharge  of  the  high  functions  of  their  Christian 
offices.     The  view  thus  furnished  is  manifestly 
practical,  and  not  intended  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  maintaining  a  theory,  or  of  giving  effect  to  a 
doctrine ;  but  designed  to  show  to  the  Corinthian 
church  the  grand  principle  of  unity  which  should 
pervade   and  cement  all  hearts,  in  consideration 
of  the  one  source  from  which  all  their  gifts  were 
derived.      The  Scripture  seldom  speaks  with  a 
manifest  intention  of  asserting  a  particular  doc- 
trine, but,  as  it  were  undesignedly,  blends  its  doc- 


1  f\o  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

trines  with  its  rules  of  practice,  and  leaves  them 
to  be  elicited  by  the  skill  of  the  student  from  the 
copious,  practical  lessons  with  which  it  abounds. 
This  remark  is  strikingly  true  of  the  text  under 
review.  It  was  designed  as  an  argument  against 
the  pernicious  emulations  of  brethren,  and  to  pro- 
mote harmony.  They  are  thus  reminded  that 
they  cannot  possess,  either  separate  qualifications, 
or  separate  interests,  since  one  Spirit,  and  one 
Lord,  and  one  God,  three  united  in  one,  was 
the  one  Author  of  all  their  gifts,  how  much  soever 
those  gifts  might  differ. 

The  same  motives  to  unity  are  referred  to  by 
the  same  Apostle,  Eph.  iv.  4,  5,  6,  and  with  the 
same  inverted  order  of  the  divine  persons.  "  There 
is  one  body  and  one  spirit,  one  Lord,  one  God  and 
Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and  through  all, 
and  in  you  all."  The  ancient  Christians  under- 
stood this  latter  clause  of  the  Trinity,  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner : — Over  all  as  Father,  through  all 
by  the  Word,  and  in  all  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  The 
triple  idea  of  the  Eternal  and  Holy  God,  is  re- 
cognised by  Paul,  2  Cor.  xiii.  14,  with  a  care  and 
distinctness  which  cannot  fail  to  satisfy  every  can- 
did mind.  "The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  love  of  God,  and  the  fellowship  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  If  this  should  lead  us  to  invoke 
one  God  under  the  notion  of  three  persons,  and 
still  we  are  misled,  who  is  he  that  misleads  us  ? 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  j qQ 

By  whose  authority  is  it  that  we  make  our  appeal 
to  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  ?  Let  the  inspired 
Apostle  answer  these  demands,  for  he  it  is  who 
has  said,  "  The  Son  is  over  all,  God  blessed  for 
ever,"  and  who  speaks  of  those  that  are  led  by  the 
Spirit,  as  under  the  guidance  and  control  of  God. 
The  Apostle  Peter  seems  to  have  been  a  trinita- 
rian,  if  an  opinion  may  be  formed  from  the  prefa- 
tory address  of  his  first  Epistle — "  Elect  accord- 
ing to  the  foreknowledge  of  God  the  Father, 
through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  unto  obedience 
and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ." 

In  Heb.  ix.  14,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit  are 
mentioned  in  immediate  connexion,  as  performing 
distinct  parts  in  the  momentous  concern  of  human 
redemption,  and  thus  uniting  their  high  func- 
tions in  saving  sinners.  "  How  much  more  shall 
the  blood  of  Christ,  who,  through  the  eternal  Spi- 
rit offered  himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge  your 
conscience  from  dead  works?"  Christ  being 
raised  from  the  dead  by  the  power  of  the  eternal 
Spirit,  appeared  in  his  glorified  body  before  the 
throne  of  God,  and  there  appeared  a  spotless 
sacrifice  to  atone  for  sin.  This  sin  offering, 
designed  for  the  relief  of  guilty  consciences,  was 
presented  to  God  the  Father,  by  God  the  Son, 
through  God  the  Holy  Ghost.  To  the  same  pur- 
pose is  Rev,  i.  4,  5,  where  we  appear  to  have  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  three  divine  persons  in 

10 


■110  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

the  Godhead.  Grace  is  implored  from  "  Him  who 
is,  and  was,  and  is  to  come,  from  the  seven  spirits 
before  the  throne,  and  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  is 
the  faithful  witness,  who  hath  made  us  kings  and 
priests  unto  God."  The  triple  idea  is  not  easily 
overlooked  in  this  passage,  and  I  may  add,  less 
easily  is  it  effaced. 

2.  Another  class  of  Scripture  texts,  asserts  the 
distinct  and  separate  divinity  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  If  each  of  these  be  thus  proved 
to  be  God,  at  the  same  time  that  all  Scripture 
unites  in  affirming  the  unity  of  God,  then  surely 
an  equal  testimony  of  the  divine  word  will  be 
found  to  support  the  doctrine  of  a  threefold  sub- 
sistence in  unity. 

That  the  Son,  who  in  the  first  chapter  of  John 
is  styled  the  Word,  is  God,  cannot  admit  a  rea- 
sonable doubt.  It  never  was  doubted  by  any,  ex- 
cept those  who  make  doubting  the  rule,  and  be- 
lieving the  exception  to  that  rule,  "  The  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  All  things 
were  made  by  him,  and  without  him  was  nothing 
made  which  has  been  made,"  are  expressions 
which  ought  to  banish  from  our  minds  all  uncer- 
tainty as  to  the  character  of  that  Word  which 
was  made  flesh.  Equally  clear  and  positive  is 
the  evidence  adducible  to  the  same  point  from 
Rom.  ix.  5 ;  "  Of  whom,  as  concerning  the  flesh, 
Christ  came,  who  is  over  all,   God  blessed  for 


THE  DOCTRINE  OP  THE  TRINITY.  1  1 1 

ever."  No  less  direct  and  conclusive  is  the  word 
of  Scripture,  1  John  v.  20  ;  "  And  we  know  that 
the  Son  of  God  is  come,  and  has  given  us  an  un- 
derstanding that  we  may  know  him  that  is  true, 
and  we  are  in  him  that  is  true,  even  in  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ.  This  is  the  true  God  and  eternal 
life.  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life,  and  he  that 
hath  not  the  Son  hath  not  life."  I  agree  with 
Beza  and  others  who  have  followed  him,  that  Ti- 
tus ii.  13,  proves  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  supreme 
God.  "  Looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the 
glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God,  and  of  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  The  omission  of  the  arti- 
cle before  Saviour  in  the  Greek  text,  is  a  very 
considerable  proof  that  the  great  God  is  no 
other  than  our  Saviour  Jesus.  The  verse  would 
then  read ;  "  Looking  for  the  glorious  appearing 
of  the  great  God,  even  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 
That  the  Son  is  truly  God  is  incontestably  mani- 
fest from  Heb.  i.  3,  where  he  is  styled  the  "  bright- 
ness of  his  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his 
person,"  that  is,  an  effulgence  of  the  Deity,  and 
the  exact  image  of  his  substance,  which  must 
prove  that  He  is  uncreated  and  underived,  and  is 
consubstantially  one  with  the  eternal  Father.  To 
this  agrees  the  Saviour's  own  declaration ;  "  I  and 
my  Father  are  one,"  John  x.  30. 

The  proof  is  nearly  absolute,  that  the  writers  of 
the  New  Testament  regarded  Jesus  as  God.    In 


112  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

Col.  ii.  3,  omniscience  is  assigned  to  Him  with 
an  explicitness  which  admits  of  no  mistake.  In 
Christ,  "  Are  hid  all  the  treasm'es  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge ;"  while  in  Rev.  ii.  23,  He  is  proclaim- 
ed as  the  "  searcJier  of  the  reins  and  the  hearth 
The  power  of  knowing  events  and  of  operating, 
in  distant  places  and  persons,  at  one  and  the  same 
time,  is  claimed  by  Him,  Mat.  xviii.  20 ;  "  For 
where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them,"  and  xxviii. 
20 ;  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto. the  end 
of  the  world."  Equally  incontestable  are  the  as- 
criptions to  Him  of  almighty  power,  "  All  power 
is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  is  his 
own  assertion,  Mat.  xxviii.  18,  which  Paul  thus 
vindicates,  Phil.  iii.  21 ;  "  Who  shall  change  our 
vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his 
glorious  body,  according  to  the  working  whereby 
he  is  ABLE  even  to  subdue  all  things  unto  him- 
self." Nor  is  it  less  characteristic  of  God,  that 
eternal  duration  is  attributed  to  Him.  His  dis- 
closures to  John,  in  Rev.  i.  11,  17,  are  made  with 
the  solemn  and  emphatic  avowal,  that.  He  is  the 
First,  and  the  Last,  which  read  in  connexion  with 
Heb.  vii.  3,  makes  the  matter  clear  that  these  in- 
spired writers  had  no  doubt  of  his  eternity.  His 
immutability  was  a  tenet  upon  which  they  as  little 
doubted.  In  the  dissolution  and  change  of  the  visi- 
ble creation  Jesus  Christ  shall  remain  the  same, 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  JJg 

"  Yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever,"  He  is  the  same, 
Heb.  i.  12,  xiii.  8.  Can  it  be  appropriate  to  any 
being  less  than  God,  to  be  set  forth  as  the  Creator 
of  all  things  ?  And  if  Jesus  be  not  so  exhibited  in 
Col.  i.  16,  I  should  like  to  know  how  and  what 
he  is  exhibited  ?  "  For  by  Him  were  all  things 
created  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth, 
visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or 
dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers,  all  things 
were  created  by  Him,  and  for  Him."  It  is  de- 
serving of  special  thought,  that  in  this  text  all 
THINGS  are  said  to  have  been  created  for  Him, 
that  is  with  a  view  to  Him,  for  his  particular  use. 
The  material  and  immaterial  universe  were 
brought  forth  from  Him,  as  a  self-existing  Al- 
mighty cause,  and  its  vast  and  boundless  constitu- 
tion is  to  subserve  his  glory. 

The  tribute  of  supreme  homage  from  angels  and 
men  is  offered  to  Jesus  the  Saviour,  in  obedience 
to  the  command  of  God.  This  is  evident  from 
Phil.  ii.  9—11,  and  Heb.  i.  6:  "Wherefore  God 
also  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name 
which  is  above  every  name,  that  at  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven, 
and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth, 
and  that  every  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father," 
who,  "  when  he  bringeth  in  the  first  begotten  into 
the  world,  saith,  'And  let  all  the  angels  of  God 

10* 


J  J^  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITV. 

worship  him.'  "  Now  let  it  be  remembered  that 
it  is  the  one  paramount  design  of  the  whole  Gos- 
pel, to  bring  all  men  to  the  worship  of  the  one 
true  God.  This  end  is  kept  in  view  by  the  uniform 
and  studied  inculcation  of  love  to  him,  as  the  only 
pure  object  of  acceptable  worship.  How  is  it 
reconcilable  with  the  main  scope  of  the  evangeli- 
cal dispensation  to  require  supreme  homage  to  be 
rendered  to  Christ,  if  he  be  not  God?  And  how 
are  we  to  justify  the  Apostles,  in  their  expressions 
of  high  and  exclusive  devotedness,  of  warm  and 
impassioned  attachment,  of  profound  veneration 
and  ardent  love  to  Christ,  if  he  be  no  more  than 
a  creature?  But  when  it  appears  in  all  the  cer- 
tainty and  consistency  of  truth,  that  most  if  not 
all  the  names,  titles,  attributes  and  works  which 
in  Scripture  are  ascribed  to  God,  are  also  attri- 
buted to  Jesus  Christ,  are  we  to  wonder  that  he 
was  hailed  as  Lord  and  God,  that  he  was  invoked 
as  the  refuge  of  his  departing  spirit,  by  the  first 
martyr,  that  he  was  loved  with  an  affection  so  in- 
tense, as  to  absorb  in  the  minds  of  Peter,  John, 
and  Paul  every  inferior  passion,  and  stimulate 
them  to  the  lofty  enterprise  of  wearing  out  and 
sacrificing  their  lives  in  his  cause  ? 

That  the  Holy  Ghost  is  God,  is  proved  by  all 
those  texts  which  declare,  either  directly  or  allu- 
sively, the  doctrine  of  triplicity  in  the  Godhead. 
Besides   these,  there   are  other  passages  which 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  Ilff 

contain  proof  of  the  personality  and  divinity  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  alone.  That  awful  sentence  which 
the  Saviour  passes  upon  him  who  utters  blasphemy 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  a  plain  acknowledgment 
of  his  individuality,  and  shows  too  his  divine  au- 
thority and  nature,  since  the  sinning  against  him 
draws  after  it  such  fearful  consequences.  A  blas- 
phemy against  the  Son  is  represented  as  a  par- 
donable offence ;  but  one  uttered  against  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  incapable  of  forgiveness,  either  in  this 
world,  or  in  that  which  is  to  come.  To  the  same 
divine  power  is  assigned  the  work,  John  xvi.  7,  8, 
of  producing  conviction  of  sin,  of  righteousness, 
and  of  judgment  ,in  the  hearts  of  men ;  and  it  is 
an  observable  fact,  that  this  exalted  being  is 
brought  to  notice  under  a  personal  representation. 
The  word  Spirit  being  of  the  neuter  gender,  might 
have  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  relative  it  as  a 
suitable  pronoun;  but,  instead  of  this,  we  have, 
as  if  by  manifest  design,  the  expressive  personal 
he  employed  in  every  instance,  as  a  term  properly 
corresponding  to  the  idea  conveyed  in  the  words 
Comforter  and  Spirit  of  truth. 

It  certainly  comports  with  candour  and  good 
sense  to  use  Acts  v.  3,  4,  in  establishing  the  proof 
of  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whilst  to  demur 
against  such  testimony,  is  one  of  the  disingenuous 
shifts  of  prevarication — "  Why  hath  Satan  filled 
thy  heart  to  lie  unto  the  Holy  Ghost?"—"  Thou 


Ilg  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

has  not  lied  unto  men,  but  unto  God."  Lying  unto 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  lying  unto  God,  are  here 
placed  as  one  and  the  same  thing.  Can  it  be 
imagined,  that  the  inspired  author  of  this  fearful 
expostulation,  spoke  either  so  incautiously,  or  with 
such  mischievous  intention,  as  to  draw  us  into 
the  error  of  believing  a  creature  to  be  God?  To 
what  a  dangerous  mistake  are  all  believers  in  the 
Bible  exposed,  if  the  Holy  Ghost  be  not  God? 

But  when  we  urge  those  who  deny  the  supreme 
deity  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  say  what  he  is,  if  he 
be  not  God,  they  tell  us  that  he  is  a  certain  energy 
or  power,  emanating  from  God.  But  it  should  be 
remembered,  that  if  he  be  a  power,  he  is  either  a 
created  or  an  uncreated  one.  If  he  be  an  un- 
created power,  he  is  God,  for  every  thing  that  is 
uncreated  is  God.  If  he  be  a  created  power, 
then  it  would  seem  that  the  Creator  made  that 
which  he  himself  had  not.  That  is,  being  al- 
mighty without  omnipotence,  he  made  for  himself 
that  power  by  which  he  is  now  omnipotent,  which 
is  impossible.  Thus  we  perceive  that  the  doc- 
trine which  is  the  foundation  of  the  Gospel  system, 
consists  in  the  belief  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost.  The  Father  is  to  be  regarded  as  God  the 
the  Creator,  the  Son  as  God  the  Redeemer,  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  God  the  Sanctifier.  Creation,  re- 
demption, and  sanctification,  result  from  the  con- 
currence of  each  person  in  the  Godhead,  and  at 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  J  17 

the  same  time  each  work  is  assigned  severally, 
but  not  exclusively,  to  each  person.  When,  there- 
fore, it  is  said  that  the  Father  creates,  it  must  be 
understood  eminently,  chiefly,  or  primarily,  and 
not  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Son  and  Spirit.  So 
the  Son  redeems,  not  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Fa- 
ther and  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  an  ^  likewise,  the 
Spirit  sanctifies  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Fa- 
ther and  of  the  Son.  It  is  under  this  triple  mani- 
festation that  the  Supreme  Divinity  is  set  forth  in 
Scripture.  <♦ 

1.  We  should  learn  to  impress  and  fasten  upon 
our  minds,  the  doctrine  of  the  adorable  three  in 
ONE.  The  apprehension  of  it  should  be  firm,  un- 
wavering and  profound.  Our  whole  salvation  is  a 
stream  from  this  fountain,  and  should,  therefore, 
flow  on,  bearing  the  characteristics  of  the  foun- 
tain. It  is  the  primal  truth  into  which  we  were 
baptized,  the  article  of  faith  which  came  like  the 
bond  of  gladness  to  our  troubled  spirits,  and  united 
all  the  disjointed  members  of  our  spiritual  frame. 
In  the  unity  of  the  eternal  Three,  we  beheld  the 
pledge  of  our  reconciliation  with  that  God  whom 
we  were  conscious  of  having  offended ;  and  saw 
all  heaven  combined  to  insure  our  salvation.  The 
deity  of  the  Son  of  God  must  be  urged,  must  be 
received,  as  a  sacred  seal  to  stamp  upon  our  hearts 
the  image  of  holiness.  Where  this  doctrine  is 
rejected,  the  great  members  of  the  Christian  sys- 


•1  I  O  THE  DOCTRINE  OP  THE  TRINITY. 

tern  are  broken  off ;  and  a  naked,  mutilated  trunk, 
without  life  or  comeliness,  without  reasonable 
parts  or  purposes,  is  presented.  Without  the 
divinity  of  Christ  there  is  no  mercy-seat,  no  dis- 
pensation of  grace,  no  hope  for  the  penitent  sin- 
ner, nothing  remaining  for  him  but  a  certain  fear- 
ful looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation. 
Without  the  divine  Spirit  to  quicken  him,  he  must 
remain  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  from  which 
no  power  in  himself  can  ever  raise  him.  Without 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  inhabit  this  temple  composed 
of  flesh  and  spirit,  it  must  be  doomed  to  everlasting 
darkness,  shame,  and  contempt. 

2.  Be  sure  that  you  receive  the  high  mysterious 
doctrine  of  Three  in  One  as  constituting  the 
Godhead,  in  the  love  of  it.  To  regard  such 
truth  as  an  airy  speculation,  is  a  piece  of  folly 
which  will  place  your  souls  in  jeopardy.  That 
which  is  so  vital,  so  deeply  interesting  to  your  sal- 
vation, and  so  essential  to  the  very  being  of  true 
religion,  should  sink  thoroughly  into  your  hearts, 
be  there  digested  and  retained  in  the  very  centre 
of  the  soul.  Indifference  to  truth  of  grave  and 
weighty  import,  is  an  indication  of  an  abandoned 
spirit;  and  the  chief  reason  why  so  many  souls 
are  lost  for  ever,  "They  received  not  the  love  of 
the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved." — 2  Thes. 
ii.  10.  They  do  not  cleave  to  it  with  a  hearty 
adhesion ;  they  do  not  embrace  it  with  the  sincerity 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  1  in 

of  love.  Remiss  in  the  retention  of  it,  they  soon 
lose  it  amid  the  deceptions  and  fallacies  which  a 
deceitful  heart  is  all  the  time  accumulating,  and 
which  are  too  often  emboldened  by  the  sanctions 
of  a  misguided  reason.  Truth  and  the  soul  are  a 
wedded  pair,  constantly  seeking  each  other  by 
mutual  inclinations.  Truth  needs  the  discerning 
soul  to  apprehend  and  love  it;  the  soul  needs 
truth  to  nourish  and  to  brace  it.  Violence  is  done 
to  both,  when  the  uniting  tie  betwixt  them  is 
severed.  The  way  to  become  established  Chris- 
tians, is  found  in  the  prompt  and  faithful  admission 
of  divine  doctrines,  doctrines  which  form  the  basis 
of  holiness.  The  acknowledgment  of  Jesus  Christ 
as  Lord,  glorifies  God  the  Father,  and  the  worship 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  most  direct  obligation 
that  you  can  present  to  him.  For  it  is  the  Spirit 
of  your  Father  that  is  in  you,  the  Divinity  that 
presides  in  the  temple  "  which  ye  are." 

3.  You  hence  see  the  God  to  whom  your  prayers 
and  thanksgivings  are  to  be  addressed.  He  it  is, 
who  is  rendered  propitious  by  a  Mediator,  and 
effective  unto  salvation  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  You 
are  not  required  to  adjust  in  your  minds  all,  nor 
indeed  any  of  the  questions,  which  an  adventurous 
curiosity  may  prompt,  on  this  lofty  theme.  Whe- 
ther you  address  directly  God  the  Father,  con- 
ceiving of  him  as  the  "  Father  of  an  infinite  ma- 
jesty," and  as  the  eternal,  incomprehensible  Author 


1  90  THE  DOCTRINE  OP  THE  TRINITY. 

of  all  things,  merciful  and  gracious ;  or  whether 
you  carry  your  supplication  to  Jesus,  the  Saviour 
and  Redeemer,  appealing  to  the  bounty  and  com- 
passion of  him  who  was  incarnate,  and  who  has 
power  to  forgive  sins ;  or  whether  you  invoke  God 
under  the  name  of  Holy  Spirit,  Divine  Spirit,  or 
Holy  Ghost,  you  are  praying  right  while  you  pray 
in  faith.  Whilst  you  stand  upon  that  only  founda- 
tion upon  which  a  sinner  can  plead  with  his  offend- 
ed and  insulted  Sovereign,  you  need  apprehend  no 
rejection  of  your  petitions,  no  indignation  against 
your  souls.  All  is  mercy,  all  is  mild.  Draw  near 
to  that  Spirit  who  washes  the  soul  in  the  laver  of 
regeneration,  w  ho  pours  upon  the  benighted  mind 
the  hallowing  illuminations  of  saving  truth,  who 
invests  the  naked,  trembling  spirit  of  man  with  the 
beauties  of  sanctification: — To  that  divine  Spirit 
draw  nigh.  Live  in  the  Spirit,  walk  in  the  Spirit. 
For,  "to  be  spiritually-minded  is  life  and  peace." 


t 


SERMON    VI. 

THE   REVIVAL   OF   RELIGION. 

Zech.  viii.  21. — Let  us  go  speedily  to  pray  before  the  Lord,  and  to 
seek  the  Lord  of  hosts.     I  will  go  also. 

Mutual  exhortations  to  pious  duties  and  obser- 
vances, may  be  attended  with  the  most  beneficial 
results.  For  it  is  manifest,  that  we  can  in  no  wise 
better  consult  the  true  interest  of  those  about  us, 
than  by  inciting  them  to  a  life  of  enlightened, 
persevering  and  unaffected  devotion.  There  is 
no  friendship  so  exalted,  so  disinterested,  so  pure 
from  all  the  sophistications  of  selfishness,  as  that 
which  studies  and  promotes  the  welfare  of  the 
soul.  Neither  is  there  any  happiness  comparable 
to  that  of  doing  good.  He  who  understood  the 
true  secret  of  being  happy,  whose  omniscience 
explored  at  a  glance  all  the  means  of  producing 
it,  and  all  the  avenues  leading  to  it,  and  whose 
power  could  command  in  an  instant  all  its  re- 
sources and  facilities,  selected  a  life  of  goodness 
as  the  only  true  felicity.  Doing  good  was  his 
work,  his  stated  vocation,  and  a  tranquil  breast, 

11 


•I  22  "^^^  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 

regulated  passions,  mitigated  sorrows,  and  high 
communion    with    heaven,    were    his    perennial 
springs  of  joy.     To  him  it  was  glory  enough  to 
comfort  the    afflicted,  victory  enough  to  disarm 
malice  by  meekness,  meat  and  drink  enough  to 
do  the  will  of  the  Father  that  sent  him.     He  did 
not  resort  to  houses,  lands,  hoarded  treasures  or 
luxurious    expenditures   to  obtain  happiness  and 
honour,  neither  did  he  ask  even  a  competency, 
but  rather  sought  destitution.     Still  his  destitution 
was  his  opulence,  and  why?  he  was  doing  good, 
and  inciting  others  to  it.     If  we  would  secure  the 
interests  of  religion,  and  give  to  the  tone  of  piety 
a  due  elevation,  both  in  our  own  hearts  and  in  the 
hearts  of  others,  we  must  frequently  rouse  the 
slumbering  energies  of  the  spirit  of  reformation. 
The  prayerless  must  be  recalled  from  their  moral 
aberrations;    the   backsliding   must  be  met  and 
rebuked ;    deserters    from   the    Lord's   standard 
must  be  arrested  and  brought  back  to  order,  and 
a  healthful  sensibility  infused  into  the  whole  body. 
To  secure  such  results  as  these,  it  has  pleased 
God  to  preserve  a  remnant  in  his  church  through- 
out every  age,  by  whose  ardent  spirit  and  stirring 
exhortations,  the  people  have  been  roused  to  duty, 
and  an  alarm  sounded  through  his  holy  mountain. 
The  prophet  Zechariah  foresees  one  of  these 
happy  periods,  when  the  inhabitants  of  one  city 
should  say  to  another,  "Let  us  go  speedily  and 


THE  REVIVAL  OP  RELIGION.  1  93 

pray  before  the  Lord,  and  seek  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
I  will  go  also."  It  is  a  good  work,  and  I  will  join 
3011  in  it;  we  will  be  found  together,  kneeling  be- 
fore the  Lord  our  Maker,  seeking  the  outpourings 
of  his  Spirit,  supplicating  his  pardoning  mercy,  and 
renewing  our  decayed  virtues. 

I  submit  a  similar  proposal,  this  day,  to  you, 
and  in  the  hope,  too,  that  it  will  meet  a  like  re- 
sponse. The  spiritual  aspect  of  our  portion  of 
Zion,  admonishes  us  that  it  is  time  to  seek  the 
Lord,  and  regain  the  happy  eminence  in  grace 
from  which  we  have  fallen.  The  time  is  critical, 
the  indications  of  passing  events  alarming,  while 
the  claims  of  duty  are  pressing  us  with  undimi- 
nished urgency.  Many  of  you  who  once  ran  well 
in  the  ways  of  piety,  have  ceased  to  speed  your 
course ;  many  who  once  felt  a  glowing  love  are 
now  cold ;  many  who  once  stood  foremost  in  every 
good  work,  have  disappeared  from  the  post  of 
duty,  and  have  left  it  neglected  and  unoccupied ; 
when,  now,  the  Spirit  of  truth  calls  you  to  go  and 
pray  before  the  Lord,  to  go  speedily  and  seek 
him,  how  many  of  you  are  ready  to  say  "  /  will 
go  also?'''' 

1.  What  we  do  in  supplicating  the  Lord's  name 
and  in  seeking  his  favour,  should  be  done  speedily. 
Let  us  go  speedily.  The  judgments  of  God  are 
ready  to  fall  upon  all  impenitents  and  abusers  of 
grace.     They  are  treading  upon  the  very  borders 


124  THE  REVIVAL  OP  RELIGION. 

of  ruin,  and  approaching  the  treacherous  descent 
down  which  they  will  sink  into  fearful  darkness 
and  misery.  Their  opportunities  of  repentance 
and  reformation  have  nearly  reached  their  final 
limit,  beyond  which  they  will  not  be  extended, 
their  measure  of  iniquity  is  nearly  full.  Like  the 
men  of  our  prophet's  day,  the  portentous  flying 
roll  inscribed  with  curses  is  waving  over  them, 
and  will  soon  enter  into  their  houses  to  spread 
forth  its  unsparing  desolations.  They  are  already 
marked  out  by  the  destroyer  as  his  destined  prey, 
and  are  surrendering  themselves  to  the  death-pro- 
voking inclinations  of  callous  hearts.  Prayer  for 
them  may  be  even  now  too  late,  but  if  delayed, 
will  certainly  be  too  late.  If  we  would  render 
such  persons  any  service,  we  must  do  it  promptly 
and  cordially. 

And  who,  and  where  are  such  persons  ?  They 
are  stated  occupants  of  these  seats,  the  frequenters 
of  this  holy  place,  the  hearers  and  the  neglecters 
of  God's  word.  Who  are  moral  delinquents  and 
abusers  of  the  Lord's  mercies?  You,  my  dear 
friends,  who  meet  us  at  this  place  from  Sabbath 
to  Sabbath,  with  respectful  demeanour  and  becom- 
ing decorum,  but  feel  no  compunction  for  sin, 
tremble  not  at  the  threatenings  of  the  Almighty, 
love  not  the  Son  of  God,  and  embrace  not  the  hope 
of  the  Gospel.  You  are  completing,  as  fast  as 
possible,  your  term  of  merciful  visitation,  you  are 


.      THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  J25 

wearing  out  yourselves  in  the  world's  wasting 
cares,  but  are  permitting  heaven  to  go  by  you  un- 
asked, unsought,  while  a  calm  indolence  seems  to 
paralyse  every  faculty  that  should  reach  forth 
after  the  supreme  good.  The  least  of  all  your 
cares  is  the  care  of  the  soul ;  the  most  desultory 
thoughts  that  waver  and  circle  on  the  ruffled  sur- 
face of  your  minds,  are  those  which  relate  to  the 
eternal  world.  Your  aspirations  after  present 
things  are  strong  and  vivid  ,*  your  wishes  for  the 
future  blessedness  are  as  faint  as  the  whisperings 
of  secrecy.  Your  only  anxiety  seems  to  be  to 
maintain  a  respectable  station  in  the  world,  to 
render  your  business  profitable,  to  guard  the 
health  of  your  bodies,  to  make  a  decent  appear- 
ance among  men,  to  ward  off  disease,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, to  evade  the  requisitions  of  death  and  the 
grave.  The  ambition  of  many  of  you,  assumes 
not  so  lofty  a  range  as  that  supposed.  You  are 
contented  with  mere  existence.  If  you  can  have 
wherewithal  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  the  corporeal 
appetite,  and  circumstances  in  life  free  from  abso- 
lute discomfort  and  misery,  you  seem  willing  to 
forego  the  hopes  of  the  future  life,  and  the  noble 
enjoyments  of  the  soul.  If  we  tell  you  that  your 
way  is  your  folly,  that  unbelief  which  stupifies 
your  hearts,  drags  you  down  from  the  dignity  of 
human  character,  and  enstalls  you  among  the 
brutes,  that  in  the  eye  of  Omnipotence  you  are 

.    11* 


I  25  "^HE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 

poor,  disgraced,  vilified  creatures,  unjust,  false 
and  impious ;  you  hear  it  all  without  a  murmur, 
no  sound  of  resentment  or  indignation  escapes 
your  lips.  But  should  I  say  to  you.  Friend,  I  yes- 
terday heard  you  denounced  as  a  person  unjust, 
rapacious,  cruel,  malicious,  lying,  and  unfit  for 
society,  all  your  soul  would  be  roused  in  a  moment. 
You  would  demand  instant  satisfaction  from  the 
person  who  could  thus  blacken  your  reputation  in 
the  view  of  your  fellow-men.  But  why  this 
strangely  disproportioned  sensibility  ?  Man's  es- 
timation of  your  character,  can  affect  no  more 
than  a  short  life.  It  can  reach  only  the  superfi- 
cial interests  of  a  duration  soon  to  be  concluded. 
Once  you  shall  have  gained  your  clay-cold  habita- 
tion, the  whisperings  of  envy  and  the  clamours  of 
reproach,  and  the  vauntings  of  insult  shall  be 
alike  unheeded.  All  the  scandals  which  can  now 
chafe  and  fret  your  burning  spirit,  shall  be  vented 
to  the  air.  But  after  this  a  new  sort  of  judgment 
will  begin  to  proceed  against  you.  Then  you  will 
begin  to  hear  accusations  not  to  be  denied,  cen- 
sures and  reproaches  not  to  be  refuted.  Then 
will  begin  to  appear  before  you  the  shame  and 
everlasting  contempt  which  offended  truth  and 
justice  will  heap  upon  your  souls  for  ever.  To 
this  future  and  posthumous  degradation  you  have 
no  sensibility.  Can  any  thing  evince  more  clearly 
than  this,  the  almost  desperate  prostration  of  your 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  1  97 

moral  sense?  Can  any  thing  show  more  convin- 
cingly that  you  are  alive  to  the  world  and  dead  to 
God?  You  take  pains  to  clear  off  a  spot  from 
your  name,  and  permit  your  souls  to  be  criminated 
in  the  most  pointed  terms.  You  are  fierce  and 
vindictive  in  defending  a  character  which  time 
will  soon  obliterate  from  the  memory  of  man,  and 
utterly  indifferent  to  that  character  on  which  eter- 
nity shall  stamp  the  impress  of  imperishableness. 
You  are  grieved  and  troubled  at  the  lies  of  men, 
and  yet  care  not  for  the  truth,  the  humiliating 
truth  which  God  tells  upon  you.  By  what  pro- 
cess of  stupefaction  is  it,  you  have  contrived  to 
bring  yourselves  to  a  condition  so  hopeless  ? 

And  we  who  witness  your  apathy,  are  unmoved 
by  such  a  spectacle  of  self-destruction,  we  see  you 
sinking  without  once  moving  towards  your  rescue. 
We  see  your  profound  repose  upon  the  margin  of 
death  without  hastening  to  rouse  you  from  the 
perilous  state.  Were  we  in  our  right  mind,  we 
should  go  speedily  and  pray  for  you  before  the 
Lord;  we  should  make  haste  to  present  you  to 
the  compassionate  regards  of  that  Saviour  who  is 
mighty  to  redeem,  and  who  is  as  willing  as  he  is 
mighty. 

But  we  appear  to  feel  no  just  sense  of  your 
danger,  and  therefore  our  efforts  to  save  you  are 
few  and  languid.  Are  we  not,  however,  most  in- 
excusable,   most    criminal   in   our    indifference? 


1  tyo  THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 

Should  one  of  you  be  smitten  in  this  congregation 
with  a  sudden  paroxysm  of  some  painful  malady 
the  intense  misery  of  which  should  in  a  moment 
convulse  and  distort  your  whole  frame  and  coun- 
tenance; should  it  be  the  father  or  mother  of 
children  present,  or  the  child  of  affectionate  pa- 
rents present,  the  husband  or  wife,  tenderly  bound 
to  each  other ;  should  the  one  see  the  other 
thrown  in  an  instant  into  the  rending  agonies  of 
some  disease  speedily  to  result  in  death ;  how 
many  anxious  hearts  and  pallid  visages  would  be 
clustering  round  the  prostrate  sufferer?  How 
many  expedients  would  be  immediately  tried  ? 
how  many  sympathies  invoked  ?  how  much  haste 
and  trepidation  would  confound  this  now  tranquil 
scene  ?  How  would  it  break  your  hearts  to  see 
the  imploring  eyes  of  the  sufferer  turned  towards 
you  in  pitiful  appeals,  and  the  hands  stretched 
out,  or  waving  in  the  most  beseeching  tokens  of 
unmitigated  anguish  ?  The  moanings  of  misery 
would  pierce  your  soul,  the  shrieks  extorted  by 
tormenting  pains  would  vibrate  upon  all  the  strings 
of  your  heart  in  aching  sensibilities.  There  would 
be  in  such  a  case  no  indolent  action — no  sluggish 
delay. 

A  corporeal  suffering  would  be  capable  of  pro- 
ducing all  the  terror  and  amazement  now  de- 
scribed. Now,  how  do  we  stand  affected  towards 
the  certain  misery  of  the  souls  about  us,  yet  im- 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGIOV.  I  OQ 

penitent,  and  therefore  instantly  liable  to  the  pains 
of  eternal  death  ?  They  are  within  the  jaws  of  the 
great  destroyer,  who  is  compelled  by  the  restrain- 
ing power  of  Omnipotence,  to  delay  a  little  before 
he  begins  to  grind  them  with  consuming  wo. 
They  still  have  a  narrow  border  of  the  crumbling 
verge  upon  which  they  totter,  rather  than  stand, 
to  be  a  temporary  support  for  their  feet.  A  thou- 
sand greedy  and  fierce  fiends  are  waiting  for  them, 
and  ready  to  snatch  away  their  precious  souls,  a 
prey  to  their  hell-born  voracity.  Can  we  see  with 
dry  eyes  their  exposure?  Can  we  know  their 
danger,  and  sit  quietly  here  ?  Can  we  see  the  hor- 
rid preparations  now  in  progress  to  detain  them 
in  everlasting  burnings,  and  not  interpose  our  kind 
offices  for  their  relief.  O  let  us  go  speedily  and 
pray  before  the  Lord  for  them.  I  will  go  also, 
we  will  take  our  station  between  the  porch  and 
the  altar,  there  we  will  weep  together,  there  we 
will  cry,  spare  thy  people,  O  Lord,  spare  our 
friends  and  relatives,  spare  our  children  and  little 
ones,  and  spare  us  the  dreaded  alternative  of  wit- 
nessing their  descent  into  the  darkness  of  eternal 
despair. 

2.  To  advert  in  terms  of  lamentation  to  the  pre- 
sent state  of  religious  feeling  among  you,  might 
seem,  in  the  view  of  some,  the  repetition  of  a 
threadbare  complaint ;  and  might  be  imputed  to 
the  love  of  gloomy  musings.     But  the  truth  must 


I  on  THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 

be  sounded  in  your  ears,  though  at  the  risk  of  ap- 
pearing trite  and  common-place.     It  must  not  be 
disguised  that  a  sad  degeneration  from  the  sim- 
phcity  that  is  in  Christ  openly  infests  the  very  in- 
terior of  the  church,  and  shov^^s  its  blighting  ef- 
fects upon  her  central  vitality.     Only  raise  your 
eyes  a  little,   and  you  will  see  the  point  from 
whence  you  have  fallen,  and  will  then  be  the  bet- 
ter able  to  judge  of  the  present  alarming  depres- 
sion.    Time  was,  when  Zion  beheld  you  on  your 
proper  eminence.     You  had  counted  the  cost  of  a 
religious  life,  and  had  settled  upon  the  determina- 
tion to  follow  Christ  through  evil,  as  well  as  good 
report,  whether  your  life  was  to  be  long  or  short, 
honourable  or  mean,  happy  or  miserable,  in  so- 
ciety or  solitude,  did  not  matter  in  the  fixing  of 
your  plan  of  existence.     The  pain  of  a  convicted 
spirit,  the  pressure  of  a  burdened  conscience,  the 
apprehension  of  a  righteous  law  threatening  to  in- 
flict upon  you  its  awful  penalties,  all  ceased  to  dis- 
turb that  repose  which  you  found  in  the  blessed 
Saviour.     To  Him  you  yielded  your  hearts'  adhe- 
sion, which  you  signalised  by  a  public  profession, 
and  the  adoption  of  a  new  name.'   Of  this  the  cir- 
cumstances were  most  solemn  and  afiecting.  You 
selected  a  baptism  most  resembling  his.   So  much 
did  you  love  him,  that  his  very  foot-prints  on  the 
margin  of  the  watery  grave  seemed  dear  to  you, 
and  such  was  your  zeal  of  imitation,  that  you 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 


131 


could  be  contented  with  nothing  short  of  a  burial 
with  Him.     I  remember  your  composed,  solemn, 
and  devout  mien;  and  the  tacit  eloquence  with 
which  your  quiet  conduct  pleaded  the  cause  of  the 
Redeemer,  and  proclaimed  to  surrounding  specta- 
tors your  final  farewell  to  all  the  world's  bewitch- 
ing attachments.     "  I  remember  the  love  of  your 
youth,  and  the  kindness  of  your  espousals."   Holi- 
ness to  the  Lord  was  then  inscribed  upon  all  your 
possessions  whether  great  or  small.     Your  voice 
of  prayer  was  heard  in  the  morning,  it  was  the 
last  language  from  your  lips  in  the  shades  of  even- 
ing.   Your  seat  in  the  Lord's  house  was  never  va- 
cant.    You  met  and  loved  the  brethren.     Those 
were  happy  days.   "  O  that  it  were  with  you  as  in 
months  past." 

You  are  now  altered  men  and  women.  Zion 
can  scarcely  recognise  you  as  the  children  with 
which  she  once  travailed  in  birth.  Your  place  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord  is  often  vacant,  and  your 
deportment  there  savours  little  of  reverence  and 
godly  awe ;  the  world  has  returned  and  proposed 
terms  of  accommodation  with  you,  to  which  you 
have  assented,  and  are  now  proceeding  hand  in 
hand  with  your  old  adversary.  The  brethren, 
once  loved  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  are  now  met 
with  coldness,  or  repulsed  with  distrust.  Sab- 
baths are  a  weariness ;  sermons  are  sleep-inducing 


1  QO  THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 

doses ;   prayers  are  tiresome  repetitions,  and  the 
Bible  an  uninteresting  book. 

FeV  of  us  are  to  be  found  without  some  secu- 
lar taint,  some  savouring  of  the  things  that  be  of 
men.  Our  spiritual  necessities  are  not  sufficiently 
felt,  and  consequently  our  prayers  are  unapt  and 
vague,  a  sort  of  solemn  impertinence ;  w^ere  we 
sensible  of  being  those  necessitous  creatures  which 
w^e  profess  to  be,  those  pardon-needing  sinners 
which,  in  words  at  least,  we  acknowledge  as  our 
character,  and  did  we  believe  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  as  heaven's  bountiful  provision  for  the  sup- 
ply of  our  necessities,  both  the  matter  and  the 
form  of  our  prayers  would  be  different ;  with  such 
convictions  fastened  upon  our  minds,  we  should 
wrestle  where  now  we  faintly  move,  we  should 
glow  and  burn  where  now  we  are  lukewarm,  we 
should  become  importunate  beggars  instead  of 
feeling  rich  and  increased  with  goods. 

We  are  all  included  in  one  common  charge  of 
inconsistency  and  remissness.  Those  of  us  who 
may  chance  to  have  somewhat  in  the  show  of  zeal 
and  prayerfulness,  and  of  the  Christian  temper, 
more  than  others,  are,  though  perhaps  unknown 
to  ourselves,  inclined  to  pride  ourselves  upon  some 
fancied  points  of  superiority.  We  can  be  piqued 
if  our  humours  are  not  indulged,  ready  for  contra- 
diction if  our  assertions  be  denied,  apt  to  be  irri- 
tated if  our  humility  be  questioned,  and  amazingly 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  T  QQ 

tenacious  of  our  opinions,  right  or  wrong ;  a  re- 
proof for  slovenly  tardiness  in  coming  to  the  hour 
and  the  house  of  worship,  is  enough  to  annihilate 
with  some  the  minister's  usefulness,  at  least  for 
that  day,  and  with  others  a  whole  Lord's  day's 
opportunities  and  services  can  be  made  a  mere 
vanity  by  the  buzzing  of  passing  scandal. 

It  is  to  be  apprehended  that  we  have  yet  to 
learn  the  constituents  of  evangelical  piety.  We 
may  assure  ourselves  that  it  does  not  consist  in 
transient  frames  and  emotions,  nor  in  excited 
feelings,  nor  in  well  told  experiences,  nor  yet  in 
those  copious  utterances  sanctified  with  the  name 
of  prayer.  But  evangelical  piety  does  consist  in 
the  mind's  retention  and  digestion  of  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus ;  in  obeying  the  dictates  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  the  denial  of  self  in  all  things,  and  in 
the  love  of  God  and  man. 

There  will  be  neither  durability  nor  consistent 
action  in  your  religion,  unless  it  be  based  upon  the 
truth.  Without  such  a  foundation  it  will  become 
a  whimsical  alternation  of  cold  and  hot  fits,  or 
else  will  be  superseded  by  inevitable  apostacy.  It 
is  only  when  you  know  the  truth  and  love  the 
truth,  that  the  truth  can  make  you  free. 

3Iany  of  you  appear  to  make  your  feelings  the 
criterion  for  determining  your  religious  state,  and 
accordingly  consider  yourselves  to  be  either  pros- 

12 


^^4  THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 

perous  or  depressed  in  the  divine  life,  just  as  you 
may  happen  to  feel,  either  lively  or  dull,  in  the 
exercises  of  religion.  Your  piety,  therefore,  be- 
comes the  creature  of  accident,  and  is  called  into 
being  or  deprived  of  being  by  the  influences  of 
time  and  place;  or  else  by  the  changeful  disposi- 
tions of  your  natural  mind.  In  such  a  case  it  is  a 
sort  of  fortuitous  affection  kindled  at  times  into  an 
intemperate  blaze,  and  subsiding,  at  other  times, 
into  absolute  coldness.  Not  so  is  that  well  ad- 
justed, and  well  sustained  affection  which  has 
truth  for  its  support.  It  is  a  perpetual  fire  burn- 
ing upon  the  altar  of  the  soul,  and  though  it  may 
have  its  periods  of  intensity  and  of  declension,  it 
has  not  an  interval  of  gloomy  extinction.  Truth 
is  always  ready  to  fan  the  feeble  flame.  It  speaks 
always  with  a  voice  commanding  enough  to  over- 
awe the  insolence  of  doubt ;  is  always  near  enough 
to  steady  the  vacillations  of  fickle  tempers ;  and  is 
faithful  enough  to  rebuke  the  flatteries  of  worldli- 
mindedness.  Truth  deals  in  realities,  and  in  their 
application  to  the  heart  and  conscience  of  man. 
God,  the  great  rewarder,  is  present,  is  believed 
and  feared.  Christ  in  his  true  divinity  and  incar- 
nation  is  present,  as  real  a  sufferer  for  sin,  as  re- 
deemer of  sinners,  in  the  fulness  of  his  atoning 
power,  and  in  the  wonders  of  his  glorification. 
The    quickening    Sanctifier   is   present.     Truth 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  T  Og 

deals  in  the  presentation  of  holy  essences  to  the 
mind,  which  is  thereby  acted  upon  and  rendered 
living. 

Do  you  desire  the  revival  of  religion,  the  greater 
success  of  its  principles,  the  wider  extension  of  its 
conquests  ?  Obtain  a  deeper  and  clearer  insight 
into  THE  TRUTH.  Bring  your  hearts  under  its 
dominion,  and  allow  it  a  proper  sway.  Find  out 
what  ground  there  is  for  your  confidence  in  prayer, 
ascertain  the  proper  reasons  for  self-denial,  for 
conformity  with  Christ  in  his  sufferings,  and  for 
doing  the  same  kind  of  good  that  he  did.  Ac- 
quaint yourselves  with  the  necessities  of  your  own 
souls,  and  try  the  effect  of  earnest,  fervent  prayer 
towards  the  producing  of  relief. 

3.  According  to  the  leading  idea  of  the  text, 
engage  your  most  active  powers  at  once,  in  the 
benevolent  work  of  mutual  encouragements  and 
exhortations  to  prayerfulness  and  devotion.  In 
this  way  you  may  redress  some  of  the  wrongs 
which  you  commit  upon  each  other  by  vain  and 
idle  conversations.  To  this  sort  of  sinful  trifling, 
no  small  portion  of  time  is  given.  You  sit-gravely 
together  and  dispute  about  a  name,  or  discuss  a 
point  of  courtesy,  or  insist  upon  some  worthless 
opinion.  You  meet  and  sit  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  where  the  solemnities  of  Zion  are  spread  out 
before  you,  and  you  rise  up  from  your  seats  with 
the  words  of  mammon  upon  your  lips,  and  draw 


1  on  THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 

the  attention  of  your  neighbours  to  some  matter  of 
discourse  wholly  foreign  to  the  sacredness  of  the 
concluded  service.  Perhaps  you  have  been  hot  or 
cold,  easy  or  uneasy  in  your  seats  ;  the  music  has 
been  bad  or  good,  the  praying  or  the  preaching 
too  long,  or  it  may  be  that  an  appointment  for  the 
meeting  of  some  committee  has  to  be  arranged, 
and  the  preliminaries  of  a  contract  to  be  settled. 
If  there  has  been  a  late  death,  its  suddenness  is 
commented  on,  and  the  time  of  the  funeral  in- 
quired, and  the  character  of  the  deceased  sub- 
jected to  remark.  A  recent  failure  is  talked  about, 
and  whether  it  be  a  fair  or  a  dishonourable  one  is 
brought  into  question.  Any  thing  common,  any 
thing  uncommon,  any  thing  strange,  any  thing 
familiar,  no  matter  what,  so  there  be  occasion  to 
call  off  your  neighbour's  attention  from  the  proper 
business  of  the  time  and  place.  Why  not  turn 
and  express,  each  to  the  other,  some  of  those  feel- 
ings and  sentiments  which  a  good  man,  from  the 
good  treasure  of  his  heart  brings  forth  ?  "  What 
proficiency  are  you  making  in  the  divine  life? 
What  lights  of  experience,  what  consolations  in 
Christ,  what  increase  of  grace  and  subduing  of 
sin,  are  you  achieving  every  day?  Are  you  ready, 
fully  ready  for  death's  inexorable  citation,  and  are 
you  enlivened  by  the  assurance  of  a  hope  that 
makes  not  ashamed?" 

It  is  time,  brethren,  that  our  custom  of  secular 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  J^iy 

gossip  in  the  sanctuary  were  laid  aside,  and  that 
a  different  seasoning  were  infused  into  our  con- 
versation. So  soon  as  our  duties  in  this  place  are 
closed,  let  us  go  and  pray  before  the  Lord,  and 
seek  the  Lord  of  hosts.  Let  our  voices  be  filling 
the  retirements  of  secret  prayer.  In  the  strength 
of  prayer,  and  in  the  communion  of  prayer,  and 
in  the  prevalence  of  prayer,  let  us  spend  our 
dearest  moments. 


12 


# 


SERMON   VII. 


THE    ATONEMENT. 


Isa.  liii.  8. — For  the  transgression  of  my  people,  was  he  stricken. 

Christ  crucified  is  the  entire  subject  of  the 
Christian  rehgion  condensed  into  one  grand  and 
comprehensive  idea.  This  idea  is  identical  with 
the  spirit  and  genius  of  the  whole  Bible,  in  which 
the  fact  of  a  bloody  expiation  for  sin,  either  in  an- 
ticipation, or  in  actual  representation,  constitutes 
a  pervading  unity  of  design.  This  wonderful  de- 
sign begins  to  disclose  itself  in  the  very  earliest 
revelations  of  God  to  man,  and  by  progressive  de- 
velopements  becomes  brighter  and  brighter,  until 
it  emerges  from  all  obscurity  and  shines  forth  in 
the  clearness  and  certainty  of  the  New  Testament 
dispensation.  Here  it  no  longer  wears  a  veil,  no 
longer  exists  under  symbolic  intimations,  but  ap- 
pears in  the  full  vigour  of  consummation,  and  holds 
a  meaning  and  import  which  were  intended  to 
reach  and  satisfy  universal  intelligence.  Grace 
and  TRUTH  came  by  Jesus  Christ. 


THE  ATONEMENT.  I  QQ 

As  sacrifice  by  a  sanguinary  oblation  was  de- 
signed to  propitiate  oflended  Deity  towards  his 
apostate  creature  man,  so  it  was  ordained  to  be  a 
mighty  argument  furnished  with  all  the  requisite 
adaptations,  to  convince  his  reason,  and  to  move 
into  moral  life  and  action  all  his  powers  and  affec- 
tions. Conformably  hereunto,  the  evangelical  mi- 
nistry has  derived  both  its  character  and  effi- 
ciency from  the  doctrine  of  the  cross.  This,  in 
all  ages,  has  been  its  theme,  its  boast,  its  glory. 
Its  power  of  persuasion,  its  fulness  of  consolation, 
its  sources  of  pure  morality,  and  its  incentives  to 
exalted  sanctity,  are  the  strong  proofs  of  its  divine 
original. 

We  may  not  pause  to  inquire  into  the  moral 
propriety  of  the  divine  atonement.  Whether  it 
be  suitable  to  the  nature  of  the  great  God,  that 
one  life  should  be  given  for  the  many,  and  re- 
ceived as  a  propitiation ;  or  whether  the  passion 
and  death  of  one  wholly  unoffending  and  innocent 
can  be  accepted  in  lieu  of  the  punishment  and 
death  of  a  race  apostate  and  guilty ;  or  whether 
Deity  himself  could  stoop  so  low  as  to  occupy  an 
afflicted  and  suffering  humanity;  or  whether  it 
would  comport  with  the  most  equitable  and  holy 
government  of  the  eternal  Sovereign,  to  treat  with 
unsparing  severity  the  immaculate  Jesus,  and  at 
the  same  time  absolve  from  condemnation  those 
whom  his  righteous  law  would   otherwise   have 


140 


THK  ATONEMENT. 


devoted  to  destruction,  are  inquiries  which  do 
not  stand  in  our  way.  They  are,  too,  inquiries 
which  cannot  be  reduced,  by  any  effort  of  reason, 
to  a  satisfactory  resohition.  Reason  may  attempt 
an  answer.  It  often  has  presumed  to  assert  what 
might,  and  what  might  not  be  done  in  such  a  case ; 
but  has  as  often  exhibited  its  incapacity  to  pro- 
duce a  reply  that  would  not  shock  its  own  princi- 
ples. As  a  great  fact,  as  an  amazing  transaction 
which  raises  the  admiration  of  earth  and  heaven, 
the  Saviour's  submission  to  death  as  an  atoning 
sacrifice  is  plain  and  obvious.  The  philosophy  of 
this  fact,  if  such  a  term  be  allowable,  comes  not 
within  the  scope  of  our  discussion.  And  how 
much  soever  we  may  admire  the  grandeur  of  its 
results,  the  benevolence  of  its  tendencies,  and  the 
crowning  glory  of  its  finished  operation,  we  must 
remain  contented  with  grateful  wonder  and  mute 
astonishment,  with  ferved  homage  and  trembling 
adoration,  as  to  its  moral  fitness.  It  is  an  expe- 
dient of  God's  devising,  and  therefore  must  be  fit- 
ting and  right ;  it  is  an  expedient  in  wonderful 
adaptation  to  man's  necessities  and  wretchedness, 
and  therefore  must  be  gracious  and  merciful. 

It  has  been  questioned  by  some,  whether  the 
Redeemer,  who  forms  the  beginning  and  the  end 
of  the  New  Testament,  is  fully  and  clearly  pointed 
out  in  any  part  of  the  Old  Testament.  Whilst  we 
are  not  of  the  number  that  attempt  to  find  Christ 


THE  ATONEMENT. 


141 


ill  every  event,  character,  doctrine  and  institution 
of  the  former  dispensation,  much  less  are  we  of 
opinion  with  those  who  can  find  him  no  where 
either  in  Moses  or  the  prophets.  For  our  Lord 
sends  us  to  the  institutions  and  writings  of  the  first 
covenant  to  find  ample  and  convincing  attestations 
of  himself.  Except  in  cases  of  profound  darkness 
or  total  blindness,  all  readers  of  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
must  see  the  anticipation  of  a  glorious  redemp- 
tion, designed  to  embrace  all  nations,  and  the  con- 
sequent flow  and  extension  of  blessings  which 
should  gladden  all  hearts.  The  extraordinary 
personage  who  should  sustain  and  accomplish  the 
offices  incident  to  this  mighty  emancipation,  is 
there  so  clearly  characterised,  as  to  leave  no 
doubt  that  Jesus  the  Saviour  was  intended.  That 
the  man  of  sorrows  who  is  the  subject  of  the  chap- 
ter from  which  the  text  is  taken,  was  no  other 
than  our  suffering,  bleeding,  crucified  Lord,  is  af- 
firmed upon  the  high,  unquestionable  authority  of 
an  inspired  teacher.     Acts  viii.  35. 

The  passage  which  has  been  adopted  as  a  text 
derives  special  interest  from  its  directness  and 
force  in  asserting  that  the  death  of  the  unoffend- 
ing personage,  was  for  the  sins  of  God's  people. 

The  Greek  version  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
which  has  been  followed  and  vindicated  by  Lowth, 
is  more  clear  and  striking  than  any  other.  For 
the  transgression  of  my  people  he  was  smitten 


•1^2  THE  ATONEMENT. 

to  death,  a  circumstance  tending  to  show  the  ac- 
curacy of  this  translation  is  related  by  Origen,  one 
of  the  celebrated  fathers  of  the  Christian  church. 
In  a  disputation  with  some  learned  Jews,  he 
quoted  at  large  this  prophecy  concerning  Christ. 
One  of  them  replied  by  affirming  that  the  words 
employed  by  the  prophet  to  express  the  series  of 
afflictive  events,  did  not  mean  one  person  but  one 
people,  namely,  the  Jews,  who  were  smitten  of 
God  and  dispersed  among  the  Gentiles  for  their 
conversion.  The  Christian  disputant  then  urged 
many  portions  of  the  prophecy,  to  show  the  ab- 
surdity of  such  an  interpretation.  Their  dexterity 
at  evasion,  enabled  them  to  dispose  of  most  of  his 
quotations,  until  he  adduced  the  text:  For  the 
transgression  of  my  people  was  he  smitten  to 
death.  Here  they  were  pressed,  because  the  one 
people  and  the  one  victim  to  death,  were  clearly 
distinguishable.*  And  here  let  me  remark,  that 
we  too  should  be  pressed,  not  in  the  manner  of 
these  Jews,  but  with  the  weight  of  so  vast  a  sub- 
ject. It  is  one  that  deeply  concerns  us,  for  "it  is 
Christ  that  died ;"  the  Lamb  of  God  was  slain 
to  take  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  A  full  expia- 
tion has  been  made,  a  ransom  provided,  mercy's 
jubilee  has  been  sounded,  and  the  triumph  of  sal- 
vation completed ;  but  the  Deliverer  is  seen  wast- 

*  Lowth  on  Isaiah. 


THE  ATONEMENT.  l^Q    - 

ing  in  blood,  blood  is  the  price  of  mercy,  blood 
seals  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  the  ratification  of 
grace. 

First :  The  prophet  here  depicted  a  person  in 
great  excess  of  affliction,  sad,  dejected,  bruised 
and  crushed  down  under  weighty  sorrows  and 
calamities.  The  same  person  is  the  object  of 
man's  cold  contempt  and  unmitigated  scorn.  He 
is  the  same  as  the  Saviour  Jesus,  whose  actions, 
sufferings  and  death  are  summarily  recorded  in 
the  Gospels.  ' 

1.  The  character  and  sufferings  exhibited  by 
the  prophet,  correspond,  by  a  most  striking  coin- 
cidence, with  Gospel  history,  relating  to  the  cha- 
racter and  sufferings  of  Christ.  Let  us  carefully  _ 
compare  the  two.  The  wonderful  being  in  the 
prophet's  view.  Hath  no  form  nor  comeliness^ 
no  qualities  attractive  to  the  men  of  that  genera- 
tion in  which  he  should  appear.  "  When  we  shall 
see  him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire 
him."  His  personal  appearance  with  all  its  attend- 
ant circumstances,  would  utterly  disappoint  public 
expectation.  He  would  possess  none  of  that  ex- 
ternal grace  and  splendour,  nothing  of  that  com- 
manding superiority  in  form  and  countenance, 
which  might  conciliate  the  regards  and  awaken 
the  admiration  of  the  age.  How  does  this  antici- 
pation agree  with  the  facts  of  the  case,  in  the 
authentic  history  of  John?     "He  came  unto  his 


^AA  THE  ATONEMENT. 

own,  and  his  own  received  him  not."  "  He  was  in 
the  world,  and  the  world  knew  him  not."  "As  for 
this  fellow,"  said  the  Jews,  "we  know  not  from 
whence  he  is."  John  i.  10,  11 ;  ix.  29.  By  Peter 
he  is  called  the  Living  Stone  disallowed  indeed  of 
men.  They  not  only  disowned  and  rejected  him, 
but  held  him  in  bitter  detestation,  and  that,  too, 
mainly  on  account  of  the  obscure  condition  in 
which  he  appeared,  the  lowly  origin  from  which 
he  sprang,  and  his  absolute  destitution  of  all  those 
advantages  which  confer  secular  superiority. 
Could  any  prophecy  ever  have  a  more  triumphant 
verification?  "He  is  despised  and  rejected  of 
men,  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
,  grief."  He  is  exiled  from  all  the  social  regards  and 
kindly  sympathies  of  the  world ;  and  appears  for- 
lorn and  dejected,  with  grief  for  his  acquaintance 
and  contumely  for  his  treatment.  Mat.  xxvi.  67, 
"Then  did  they  spit  in  his  face,  and  buflfeted  him. 
And  others  smote  him  with  the  palms  of  their 
hands;"  xxvii.  39,  "And  they  that  passed  by  re- 
viled him,  wagging  their  heads."  Is  not  this,  then, 
the  man  of  whom  the  prophet  speaks  ?  Are  not 
these  indignities  heaped  in  all  the  profusion  of 
cruel  mockery  upon  the  gentle  and  unresisting 
Jesus,  the  insulting  derision  and  rejection  which 
the  prophet  had  foreseen  bursting  from  the  malice 
of  human  hearts  ?  "  He  was  oppressed  and  he 
was   afflicted,   yet   he    opened   not    his   mouth." 


THE  ATONEMENT.  J^^ 

Unjust  oppression  and  affliction  have  ever  prompt- 
ed to  complaints  and  protestations,  the  wisest  and 
the  best  of  men.  For  though  innocence  and  con- 
scious rectitude  under  sufferings  are  the  surest 
supports  of  the  soul,  yet  the  nature  merely  hu- 
man, laid  under  the  unmerited  pressure  of  extre- 
mities and  tortures,  without  the  utterance  of  a 
solitary  murmur  or  deprecation,  has  never  yet 
been  found,  it  never  will  be.  If,  therefore, 
Isaiah  designed  this  passage  as  an  example  of 
submission  in  any  one  people,  or  in  any  one  man, 
he  must  have  expected  and  foretold  that  to  which 
all  nature  stands  in  contradiction,  and  upon  which 
it  places  the  mark  of  improbability,  if  not  of  im- 
possibility. But  when  the  application  is  made  to 
the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  it  becomes  reason- 
able and  pertinent. 

It  agrees  also  with  the  facts  avouched  by  the 
concurring  testimony  of  the  historians  of  the 
New  Testament.  Mat.  xxvi.  62,  63,  "And  the 
High  Priest  arose  and  said  unto  him,  Answerest 
thou  nothing?  What  is  it  which  these  witness 
against  thee  ?  But  Jesus  held  his  peace."  Ch. 
xxvii.  13,  14,  "Then  said  Pilate  unto  him,  Hearest 
thou  not  how  many  things  they  witness  against 
thee  ?  And  he  answered  him  to  never  a  word." 
Luke  xxiii.  9,  10,  11,  "Herod  questioned  with 
him  in  many  words;  and  the  chief  priests  and 
scribes  stood  and  vehemently  accused  him,  and 

13 


lAQ  THE  ATONEMENT. 

Herod,  with  his  men  of  war,  set  him  at  nought 
and  mocked  him,  and  arrayed  him  in  a  gorgeous 
robe.     But  he  answered  nothing."    In  the  silence 
of   the    Redeemer    under    all    the   accusations, 
wrongs  and  tortures  which  he  endured,  there  is  a 
meaning  which  pierces  the  heart.   There  is  a  pre- 
ternatural grandeur  rising  in  sublimity  far  above 
the  passions  and  weaknesses  of  mortals,  and  dis- 
playing the  divinity  of  his  nature.     Let  us  pause 
a  moment  to  contemplate  that  lofty  silence.     All 
is  clamour  about  him,  but  his  is  meek  quiescence. 
All  around  him  is  uproar,  importuning  rage,  fierce 
assault,  mingled  taunts  and  execrations,  all  within 
him  is  calm  dignity,  pacific  mildness,  quiet  resig- 
nation.    Amid  this  multitude  who  is  the  governor, 
who  is  the  king,  who  is  the  exalted  sovereign? 
He  who  leaves  his  silence  to  plead  for  him,  who 
without  the  sound  of  an  articulation,  is  eloquent 
and  impressive  beyond  the  power  of  angels,  who 
in   undisturbed   majesty   looks,   but    speaks  not, 
suffers,  but  murmurs  not,  agonises  without  lamen- 
tation, and  moves  forward  in  the  work  of  atone- 
ment. 

"  And  he  made  his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and 
with  the  rich  in  his  death."  There  is  some  con- 
fusion here  from  the  imperfect  translation  of  the 
original  text.  The  clear  and  forcible  version  of 
Bishop  Lowth,  relieves  it  from  all  difficulty. 
"  And  his  grave  was  appointed  with  the  wicked. 


THE  ATONEMENT.  J^iy 

but  with  the  rich  man  was  his  tomb ;"  that  is,  his 
murderers  intended  that  he  should  have  nothing 
more  than  a  common  grave,  in  company  with  the 
malefactors;  but  their  intention  Was  defeated  by 
the  providence  of  God,  who  assigned  his  burial 
with  the  rich  in  a  tomb.  To  see  the  completion  of 
this  in  Christ,  we  have  only  to  compare  with  it  the 
several  circumstances  collected  from  the  Gospels, 
attending  his  burial :  "  There  was  a  rich  man  of 
Arimathea,  named  Joseph,  a  member  of  the  San- 
hedrim,  and  of  respectable   character,  who  had 
not  consented  to  their  counsel  and  act.     He  went 
to  Pilate  and  begged  the  body  of  Jesus.     And  he 
laid  it  in  his  own  new  tomb,  which  had  been  hewn 
out  of  the  rock,  near  to  the  place  where  he  was 
crucified,  having  first  wound  it  in  fine  linen  and 
spices,  as  the  manner  of  the  Jews  was  to  bury 
the  rich  and  great."     The  coincidence  of  the  pro- 
phecy with  the  circumstances  narrated  respecting 
the  disposition  made  of  the  body  of  Jesus  after 
his  crucifixion,  is  most  exact  and  unquestionable. 
Could  such  a  coincidence  be  the  result  of  acci- 
dent?    Could  it  have  occurred  in  a  combination 
of  the  sacred  historians  to  fabricate  the  account 
in  order  to  adapt  it  to  the  prediction,  and  thus  to 
complete  the  imposition  upon  the  credulity  of  man- 
kind?   Neither  of  these  conjectures  can  be  made, 
except   from  gross  ignorance  or  flagrant  disho- 
nesty. 


I 


■^AQ  THE  ATONEMENT. 

2.   Upon  the  authority  of  the  Apostles  Paul, 
Peter,  and  John,  it  may  be  said  without  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation,  that  the  man  of  sorrows  of  the 
prophet  is  the  same  as  Jesus  the  Saviour.  It  is  true 
these  Apostles  no  where  say  in  so  many  terms  that 
the  fifty-third   chapter  of  this  prophet  describes 
their  suffering  Lord.     But,  in  most  of  their  allu- 
sions to  the  Saviour's  substitution,  in  the  place  of 
sinners,  they  use  a  strain  of  expression  which  they 
might  be  supposed  to  have  borrowed  from  this 
prophet.     The  prophet  says,  "  He  was  wounded 
for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  ini- 
quities, the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon 
him,  and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed."  Paul  says, 
"  He  was  delivered  for  our  offences."     "  When 
we  were  yet  without  hope  in  due  time  Christ  died 
for  us."    "  While  we  were  yet  sinners  in  due  time 
Christ  died  for  us.     When  we  were  enemies  we 
were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son. 
Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures.   Christ  hath  loved  us,  and  given  himself  for 
us,  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God.     Christ  was 
once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many."    Peter  de- 
clares, "  that  Christ  once  suffered  for  sins,  the  just 
for  the  unjust ;"  and  that  he  "  himself  bore  our  sins 
in  his  own  body  on  the  tree."     John  testifies  that 
he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours 
only  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."     "  The 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from 


THE  ATONEMENT.  J^Q 

all  sin."  "  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God, 
but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins."  The  prophet  exclaims, 
"  Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him,  he  hath 
put  him  to  grief."  Paul  witnesses,  "  That  God 
spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for 
us  all."  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  of  us."  Such  pa- 
rallelisms, or  rather  identities  of  thought  might 
be  greatly  augmented ;  but  these  are  more  than 
enough  to  show  the  opinion  of  the  New  Testament 
authorities  which  I  have  named.  In  one  of  the 
adduced  texts  there  appears  to  be  an  allusion  very 
direct  to  the  prophet ;  Christ  died  for  our  sins  ac- 
cording to  the  Scriptures.  Were  not  the  griefs 
and  oppressions  of  the  one  person,  as  portrayed  by 
the  prophet,  sounding  at  that  moment  in  the  ears 
of  Paul  ?  In  referring  to  the  Scriptures,  on  what 
portion  could  we  more  directly  rely,  than  upon 
this  which  burnt  from  the  hallowed  lips  of  Isaiah  ? 
Behold  then.  Christians,  your  adorable  Lord 
standing  before  the  prophetic  eye  of  an  ancient 
saint.  That  eye  looks  in  upon  his  deep  humilia- 
tion, and  mysterious  agony,  surveys  his  marred 
visage,  despised  form  and  rejected  glory.  That 
eye  beholds  the  rulers  taking  counsel,  and  enter- 
ing into  combinations  against  the  Lord,  and 
against  his  Christ,  and  views  in  the  distance  the 
blood  of  expiation.     That  eye  too  affected  the 

13* 


-I  KQ  THE  ATONEMENT. 

heart,  and  strained  into  astonishment  the  whole 
soul  of  a  ransomed  sinner.  His  prophecy  is  now 
fact,  his  vision  is  reality.  The  veil  of  intervening 
centuries  through  which  he  had  to  look,  is  re- 
moved, is  dropt,  and  Jesus  the  sufferer,  Jesus  the 
reproached  and  despised,  Jesus  the  crucified 
stands  before  vou  in  all  the  truth  and  fulness  of 
his  character.  Will  you  bring  up  and  lay  before 
him  the  indifference  of  your  hearts  to  requite  his 
sorrows?  Will  you  approach  him  with  the  ambi- 
guities of  a  formal  homage  of  lip  service  as  the 
only  gratitude  which  you  can  r  ender  ? 

Hail,  Son  of  God,  Saviour  of  men,  thy  name 
Shall  be  the  copious  matter  of  my  song. 

3.  Other  portions  of  the  Old  Testament,  besides 
that  to  which  we  have  adverted,  represent  the  fu- 
ture Messiah  in  a  style  similar  to  that  of  the  pro- 
phet Isaiah.  From  this  we  conclude  that  they  had 
one  and  the  same  personage  in  view,  and  that  this 
was  Jesus  of  the  New  Testament.  David  person- 
ating the  Man  of  reproaches  and  sorrows  deserves 
to  be  heard.  Ps.  xxii.  6 — 8 ;  "  But  I  am  a  worm 
and  no  man,  a  reproach  of  men  and  despised  of  the 
people.  All  they  that  see  me  laugh  me  to  scorn,  they 
shoot  out  the  lip  and  shake  the  head,  saying.  He 
trusted  in  the  Lord  that  he  would  deliver  him,  let 
him  deliver  him  seeing  he  delighted  in  him."  Ixix. 
20,21 ;  "Reproach  hath  broken  my  heart,  and  I  am 


THE  ATONEMENT.  l  K| 

full  of  heaviness,  and  I  looked  for  some  to  take 
pity  and  there  was  none,  and  for  comforters  but  I 
found  none.     They  gave  me  also  gall  for  my  meat, 
and  in  my  thirst  they  gave  me  vinegar  to  drink." 
Daniel  proclaims  the  very  time  when  the  glorious 
personage  that  occupied  the  field  of  his  prophetic 
vision  should   suffer,  ix.  25 ;    "  After   threescore 
and  two  wrecks  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not  for 
himself."     Zechariah  xiii.  7,  in  bold,  but  figura- 
tive terms  corresponds  with  Daniel  in  announcing 
the  death  of  the  future  Redeemer.     "  Awake,  O 
sword,  against  my  shepherd,  and  against  the  man 
that  is  my  fellow,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.     Smite 
the  shepherd  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered." 
One  of  the  foregoing  quotations  is  too  remarkable 
to  escape  observation.     "  They  gave  me  also  gall 
for  my  meat,  and  in  my  thirst  they  gave  me  vine- 
gar to  drink."     Turn  now  to  what  actually  oc- 
curred during  the  crucifixion.      Mat.  xxvii.  34; 
"  They  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink  mingled  with 
gall."     The  Jewish  rulers,  who  must  have  been 
well  acquainted  with  the  Psalms  of  David,  both  as 
to  their  devout  and  prophetic  character,  are  here 
shown  to  have   acted  a  most   extraordinary  part. 
Their  purpose  was  to  annihilate  for  ever  the  per- 
son and  the  claims  of  Jesus,  to  blot  from  the  page 
of  history  his  name  and  doings,  and  to  defeat  all 
his  promises  and  predictions.     But  behold  their 
wonderful  infatuation!     In  the  very  execution  of 


|KO  THE  ATONEMENT. 

their  design  they  perform  an  act  which  extin- 
guishes the  last  spark  of  their  own  hopes.  In  giv- 
ing to  their  hated  victim  vinegar  mingled  with 
gall,  they  cover  him  with  the  lustre  of  a  verified 
prediction  uttered  by  David.  This  gall  decides 
against  themselves  a  question  which  they  had  re- 
solved to  decide  by  the  strong  arm  of  power  to 
the  total  subversion  of  the  Saviour's  pretensions. 
By  this  act  they  connect  Jesus  with  David,  and 
confer  upon  his  character  and  sufferings  a  light 
and  majesty  which  all  their  rage  will  never  be 
able  to  obliterate. 

Secondly.  In  speaking  of  the  Saviour's  substi- 
tution as  an  atoning  sacrifice  for  sinners,  it  is  my 
design  to  urge  what  is  incontrovertible  and  no 
more.  The  subject  is  one  upon  which  controversy 
has  exerted  a  bad  influence.  Respecting  it  ques- 
tions have  been  raised,  and  positions  assumed 
highly  detrimental  to  truth  and  piety.  To  perpe- 
tuate these  is  not  a  worthy  design  of  the  Christian 
ministry.  It  is  a  subject  which  the  Scriptures,  if 
permitted  to  speak  in  their  own  simple  and  un- 
biased sense,  would  have  protected  from  ill  usage 
and  distortion.  For,  in  these  it  is  aftirmed  and 
set  forth  as  a  grand  prominent  fact,  not  mangled 
by  disputation,  not  perplexed  by  nice  distinctions, 
not  diminished  by  subtle  definitions,  but  free  and 
full,  and  sufiicient,  being  God's  provision  of  mercy, 
and  man's  refuge  from  guilt  and  its  efi'ects. 


THE  ATONEMENT.  153* 

1.  The  Saviour's  submission  to  death  as  a  sin- 
offering  for  the  human  race,  reconciles  God  to  the 
exercise  of  mercy,  and  to  the  extension  of  the 
pardoning  power  to  that  ruined  race.     It  is  not  for 
creatures  short-sighted  and  dim-sighted  as  we  are, 
to  say  what  Deity  could  or  could  not  do,  indepen- 
dently of  any  oblation  for  sin.     For  us  to  assert 
that   divine   wisdom   could   have   contrived,  and 
divine    power    could    have    performed   no   plan 
through   which  his  mercy  might  reach  a  guilty 
world,  other  than  that  which  is  exhibited  in  the 
atonement  of  Christ,  would  be  a  most  unjustifiable 
presumption  against  the  liberty  of  those  attributes. 
For,  we  are  not  competent  to  decide  as  to  any 
work  of  God,  that  it  is  necessarily  ^ust  what  it  is. 
Its  being  what  it  is,  may  authorise  the  inference 
that  it  is  so  best,  and  most  fitting  ;  but  not  the  in- 
ference that  it  could  not  by  any  possibility  other- 
wise exist.    So  it  is  allowajble  to  think  and  speak 
of  the  atonement.     It  is  an  actual  provision,  re- 
vealed, commended  and  suited  to  us ;  and  we  may 
hence  believe  that  it  is  most  agreeable  to  all  the 
requisitions  of  the  case,  and  most   beneficial  as 
the  provision  of  that  Being  who  is  infinitely  good 
and  gracious.     It  is  therefore  a  grievous  intrusion 
upon  the  perfect  freedom  of  Heaven's  supremacy 
to  allege  impossibilities  or  inconsistencies,  as  co- 
ercive limitations  to  the  exercise  of  his  mercy, 
except  in  that  way  which  he  has  adopted  and  in- 


IK  J  THE  ATONEMENT. 

stituted.  In  the  discussion  of  such  a  subject  I  do 
heartily  repel  and  deplore  all  attempts  to  establish 
principles  and  secure  proprieties  of  conduct  for 
God,  by  passing  over  the  just  boundaries  of  his 
revealed  truth,  and  running  into  unrestrained 
speculations.  If  ever  the  solemn  citation  which 
calls  us  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony,  had  a 
most  necessary  and  imperative  tone,  it  is  when 
we  attempt  to  think  and  speak  of  the  great  propi- 
tiation of  Christ  Jesus. 

The  Apostle  Paul  to  the  Ephesians,  iv.  32,  de- 
clares, that  "  God  for  Christ's  sake  had  forgiven 
them,"  and  in  Col,  iii.  13,  he  speaks  of  forgiveness 
as  the  act  of  Christ.  Again,  Eph.  i.  7,  he  re- 
presents Christ  as  the  Saviour,  "In  whom  we  have 
redemption  through  his  blood,  forgiveness  of  sins." 
Peter  affirms.  Acts  v.  31,  that  Jesus  whom  the 
Jews  slew  and  hanged  on  a  tree,  was  exalted  with 
God's  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour, 
"  for  to  give  repentance  to  Israel,  and  forgiveness 
of  sins."  What  Paul  had  said  to  the  Ephesians, 
he  repeats  to  the  Colossians,  i.  14,  "  In  whom  we 
have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness 
of  sins."  He  is  still  more  full  and  explicit  to  the 
same  effect,  Rom.  iii.  25,  where  Jesus  Christ,  the 
author  of  redemption,  is  he  "  Whom  God  hath  set 
forth  to  be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his 
blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance 


THE  ATONEMENT.  I K^ 

of  God."  John  declares  that  he  is  the  propitia- 
tion for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world. 

If  there  be  any  meaning  in  such  texts,  it  is 
clearly  this,  that  God  is  fully  reconciled  to  the 
free  and  plenary  exhibition  of  his  mercy  in  the 
pardon  of  sin,  in  consequence  of  the  Saviour's 
submission  to  death  as  a  substitute  for  sinners. 
It  is  just,  then,  to  assert  that  every  act  of  forgive- 
ness ever  extended,  or  ever  yet  to  be  extended  to 
sinful  creatures,  proceeds  from  the  great,  only 
reconciliation  effected  by  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus. 
It  is  equally  just  to  maintain  that  the  same  recon- 
ciliation has  created  an  ample  and  glorious  possi- 
bility of  mercy's  indefinite  extension  and  procla- 
mation to  a  perishing  world. 

2.  But  we  may  proceed  a  step  farther,  and 
assume  a  still  more  encouraging  and  exalted 
ground  of  confidence.  Not  only  has  the  atone- 
ment fully  reconciled  the  divine  Being  to  the  free 
exercise  of  the  pardoning  power,  but  it  has  in- 
clined and  disposed  him  to  seek  and  promote  the 
salvation  of  sinners,  and  to  prevent  and  obviate 
their  destruction.  I  should  be  chargeable  with  no 
exaggeration,  were  I  to  adduce  the  whole  Bible  in 
corroboration  of  this  idea.  For  what  is  the  grand 
pervading  and  transcendent  aim  of  all  Scripture? 
What  is  the  scope  of  its  disclosures,  of  its  facts, 
of  its  histories,  of  its  institutions,  of  its  prophecies, 


1  eg  THE  ATONEMENT. 

doctrines,  warnings  and  precepts,  but  the  cure  and 
prevention  of  sin?  Its  addresses,  threatenings, 
promises  and  persuasives,  are  any  thing  else  than 
indifference  to  the  welfare  of  man.  The  voice  of 
God  softened  by  the  tenderness  of  parental  affec- 
tion, importunate  through  the  solicitude  of  conde- 
scending kindness,  alluring  by  the  gentle  tones  of 
commiseration,  is  heard  in  every  line,  is  echoed 
from  page  to  page  of  the  sacred  word.  "Hav6  I 
any  pleasure  at  all  that  the  wicked  should  die, 
saith  the  Lord  God,  and  not  that  he  should  turn 
from  his  ways  and  live  ?  Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why 
will  ye  die  ?  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and 
the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts,  and  turn  to  the 
Lord,  that  he  may  have  mercy  upon  him,  and  to 
our  God  that  he  may  abundantly  pardon."  "  I  will 
be  merciful  to  their  unrighteousness,  and  their 
sins  and  iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more." 
The  preaching  of  Jesus  was  a  call  to  repentance ; 
the  whole  Gospel  contained  a  similar  call.  This 
shows  God's  gracious  disposition  to  save  sinners. 

3.  While  we  may  rejoice  that  the  benevolent 
purpose  of  God  to  save  sinners,  is  secured  by 
virtue  of  the  reconciliation  made  by  Christ,  it 
should  be  an  additional  consideration  of  gratitude, 
that  the  work  of  mercy  actually  proceeds  in  con- 
formity with  righteousness  and  strict  equity.  "  A 
God  of  truth  and  without  iniquity,  just  and  right 
is  he,"  when  he  absolves  from  guilt,  and  justifies 


THE  ATONEMENT.  JCJi^ 

from  condemnation,  all  those  who  seek  protection 
in  the  atonement.  It  is  here  that  mercy  and  truth 
have  met  together,  righteousness  and  peace  have 
kissed  each  other.  Truth  shall  spring  out  of  the 
earth,  and  righteousness  shall  look  down  from 
heaven.  By  means  of  this,  he  is  a  just  God  and 
a  Saviour,  and,  according  to  Paul,  "He  is  just,  at 
the  same  time  that  he  is  the  justifier  of  them  that 
believe  in  Christ  Jesus."  Just  and  true  are  the 
ways  of  the  King  of  saints.  In  being  smitten  to 
death  for  us,  then,  our  great  High  Priest  has  made 
our  salvation  an  act  of  righteousness  on  the  part 
of  Deity,  so  that  mercy  and  justice  are  fully  har- 
monised in  the  great  transaction.  The  Apostle 
Paul  in  a  very  few  words  states  the  doctrine  here 
asserted.  He  says,  "Christ  was  delivered  for  our 
offences,  and  raised  again  for  our  justification," 
that  is,  having  completed  the  work  of  vindication, 
he  arose  from  the  dead ;  having  done  all  that  was 
required,  to  place  his  expiation  upon  the  basis  of 
eternal  and  immutable  justice ;  having  rendered 
the  results  of  it  so  far  as  God  and  sinners  are 
concerned,  a  righteous,  as  well  as  a  merciful  pro- 
vision, he  rose  from  the  dead,  redemption  being 
finished,  death  being  abohshed,  and  life  and  im- 
mortality being  brought  to  light. 

The  justice  of  God  is  that  perfection  and  inte- 
grity of  the  divine  nature  by  which  all  the  good- 
ness and  rectitude  of  the  universe  are  protected 

14 


IKR  THE  ATONEMENT. 

and  secured,  and  all  the  sin  and  disorder  are  visit- 
ed and  restrained  by  coercive  penalties.  If  such 
freedom  of  expression  may  be  permitted  us,  we 
would  say,  that  although  penal  inflictions  are  con- 
sequences incidental  to  the  justice  of  God,  they 
do  not  flow  from  it  as  a  necessary  effect.  The 
effect  induced  is  certain  and  unavoidable,  in  all 
those  instances  and  respects,  in  which  that  justice 
is  opposed  in  any  of  its  provisions,  by  the  iniquity 
and  lawlessness  of  transgressors.  But  if  trans- 
gression come  not  in  its  way,  if  sin  in  no  form  in- 
terfere, then  it  must  appear  to  us,  as  nothing  more 
than  that  immutable  principle  of  equity  in  the 
great  Maker  and  Governor  of  the  universe,  which 
guaranties  the  right  of  happiness  and  conserva- 
tion to  every  creature  and  member  of  that  uni- 
verse. 

According  to  this  view,  the  justice  of  God,  in- 
stead of  meditating  and  designing  the  misery  and 
overthrow  of  human  beings,  did  propose  and  pro- 
vide for  the  very  opposite  state  of  things.  It  stood 
ready  from  the  first  to  defend  their  innocence,  and 
to  draw  around  them  the  strong  munitions  of  its 
conservative  power.  Its  balance  and  its  rod,  its 
laws  and  its  sword,  all  stood  ready  to  guard  the 
sublime  repose  of  untainted  purity  and  obedience. 
For  the  law,  which  is  but  the  voice  of  justice  for- 
bidding iniquity  and  encouraging  righteousness, 
contemplated  the  preservation  of  dignity  and  feli- 


THE  ATONEMENT.  l  KQ 

city  to  our  race.  This  is  plainly  inferable  from 
Rom.  viii.  2,  where  allusion  is  made  to  "  What  the 
law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the 
flesh."  We  naturally  ask,  what  did  it  propose  to 
do?  And  the  answer  as  naturally  is,  it  proposed 
to  extend  to  us  a  guardianship  which  would  never 
for  a  moment  intermit  its  protecting  energies.  It 
proposed  to  perpetuate  our  allegiance  to  the  King 
of  heaven.  This  it  could  not  do  in  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  "  In  that  it  was  weak  through 
the  flesh."  It  could  not  exert  its  benevolent  in- 
tentions upon  us  on  account  of  sin,  and  therefore 
gave  command  to  destroy  us,  and  still  remained 
holy,  and  just,  and  good.  The  very  goodness  of 
the  law,  in  such  a  crisis  as  this,  was  precisely 
that  which  made  it  most  terrible  to  the  guilty." 
But  God  sending  his  own  Son  in  the  hkeness  of 
sinful  flesh,  "And  for  sin,"  that  is,  fpr  sinners, 
"  Condemned  sin  in  the  flesh,"  that  is,  afforded  a 
full  and  perfect  vindication  of  the  goodness  and 
holiness  of  the  law,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation 
for  the  salvation  of  sinners  in  perfect  accordance 
with  law  and  justice.  This  foundation  is  the 
atonement.  And  the  justice  of  God,  not  only  con- 
sents to  the  salvation  of  sinners,  but  secures  it, 
and  ratifies  the  terms.  From  this  it  is  evident 
that  the  atonement  saves  all  those,  and  no  more, 
WHO  ARE  Christ's,  who  walk  not  according  to  the 


IgQ  THE  ATONEMENT. 

flesh,  but  according  to  the  Spirit.  It  makes  cer- 
tain the  salvation  of  none  irrespective  of  faith  and 
repentance,  it  makes  certain  the  salvation  of  all 
found  in  the  possession  of  these  qualifications. 
Whether  then  Christ  died  for  the  few,  or  the 
many,  for  a  part  of  mankind,  or  for  the  whole 
world,  for  saints  or  sinners,  are  questions  which 
do  not  concern  the  attainment  of  redemption's 
mercy.  Whether  we  are  in  Christ  by  a  true  faith, 
whether  we  are  new  creatures,  whether  the  old 
man  with  his  deeds  is  crucified,  are  most  concern- 
ing questions.  The  door  into  the  happy  state  in- 
dicated by  these  terms  is  open  to  all. 

I  have  thus  concisely  stated  some  of  the  more 
prominent  doctrines  of  Scripture  relating  to  the 
substitution  of  Jesus  in  the  place  of  sinners.  I 
have  now  before  me  the  solemn  duty  of  showing 
to  you,  my  dear  hearers,  the  attitude  in  which  this 
intervention  of  God's  mercy  places  you,  and  the 
sentiments  and  feeling  with  which  you  should  stand 
affected  towards  it. 

Sinner,  you  are  placed  in  circumstances  of  tre- 
mendous import,  because  you  now  have  the  power 
of  sinking  into  hell  with  the  cry  of  Immanuel's  in- 
sulted blood  to  exasperate  your  wo.  You  can 
now  signalise  your  damnation  by  rendering  it  your 
own  wilful,  wicked  act.  In  due  time  Christ  died 
for  sinners.    In  due  time  he  shed  his  blood  for  his 


THE  ATONEMENT.  IgJ 

enemies,  reserving  not  one  drop  in  his  heart.  By  , 
his  own  consent,  whilst  he  stood  in  the  magnifi- 
cence of  meek  silence,  he  was  smitten  to  death. 
He  became  obedient  to  death,  even  the  death  of 
the  cross.  This  moving  spectacle  is  placed  before 
your  eyes.  This  tale  of  blood  is  sounded  in  your 
ears.  You  are  asked,  and  the  inquiry  cannot  be 
dismissed,  whether  this  scene  of  suffering  has  any 
meaning  for  you;Vhether  it  has  an  expression 
and  a  tone  adapted  to  your  comprehension,  and 
benevolent  toward  your  guilt  and  necessity.  This 
question  meets  you  at  every  point,  presses  itself 
upon  you,  and  calls  for  a  decision.  Your  deter- 
mination is  waited  for.  While  you  pause  and  he- 
sitate, the  horror  of  amazement  at  your  indiffer- 
ence, seizes  saints  and  angels.  Decide  promptly, 
decide  justly,  or  a  righteous  decision  will  soon  be 
made  for  you. 

Do  any  of  you  begin  to  imagine,  that  the 
Man  of  sorrows  smitten  to  death,  is  a  subject 
which  has  no  meaning  to  you  ?  Is  there  no  ex- 
pressive signification  in  the  mournful  sounds  which 
groaned  from  Calvary  ?  To  whom  then  have  those 
sounds  a  meaning,  if  not  to  you  ?  Was  the  illus- 
trious martyrdom  of  Jesus  nothing  more  than  a 
sight  to  feast  his  murderers  ?  Was  that  bloody 
scene  of  suffering  virtue,  intended  only  to  awaken 
the  sympathies  of  attending  angels  ?     Was  it  no 

14* 


J(J2  '^^  ATONEMENT. 

more  than  an  idle  pomp  to  furnish  Omnipotence 
an  occasion  to  display  his  power,  by  showing 
signs  in  the  heavens  above  and  wonders  in  the 
earth  beneath?  Was  its  meaning  merged  and 
lost  in  the  unexpected  disturbance  of  nature,  the 
quaking  of  the  earth,  and  the  return  of  life  to  the 
reposing  dead  ?  Was  the  darkness  which  smote 
the  world  with  dread,  but  the  prelude  to  the  dark- 
ness of  oblivion  upon  the  name  of  Him  who  was 
crucified?  Produce,  I  entreat  you,  some  satis- 
factory reply  to  these  interrogatories. 

But  remember  yourselves  as  you  meditate  a 
reply.  Are  you  not  sinners,  are  you  not  at  this 
moment  the  well-defined,  strongly-marked  sub- 
jects of  guilt  who  need  forgiveness,  who  need  a 
ransom  from  your  bondage,  who  need  a  moral 
change,  a  thorough  renovation  of  heart  ?  Jesus 
is  lifted  up  to  draw  you  to  him.  The  cross  is 
planted  in  your  path  to  arrest  your  speed  in  the 
way  to  destruction.  The  earth  is  moved  and  agi- 
tated to  remind  you  of  Him  who  will  soon  shake, 
not  the  earth  only,  but  also  heaven.  Consenting 
tokens  through  nature's  wide  domain,  tell  you  une- 
quivocally that  this  is  the  Son  of  God. 

Ye  believers,  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay 
^old  on  the  hope  set  before  you,  the  mighty  Sa- 
viour smitten  to  death  is  your  only  trust.  You 
gain  protection  by  running  under  the  paschal  blood 


THE  ATONEMENT.  T/^O 

of  the  cross.  You  obtain  life  by  baptism  into  his 
death,  vvitli  him  you  share  the  approving  care  of 
satisfied,  vindicated  justice.  There  is  a  death  for 
you  to  die,  a  crucifixion  for  you  to  feel.  A  crucified 
Head  must  have  a  crucified  body  and  members. 
For  the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he 
smitten  to  death.  Here  is  your  hope,  your  life, 
your  all. 


SERMON    VIII. 

LYING  VANITIES. 

Jonah  ii.  8. — They  that  observe  lying  vanities,  forsake  their  own 

mercy. 

The  condition  of  human  beings  in  this  world, 
resembles  that  of  sentinels  at  their  post  of  obser- 
vation. These,  to  acquit  themselves  well,  should 
possess  a  circumspection  that  wavers  not,  and  a 
vigilance  that  slumbers  not.  They  should  know 
the  point  on  which  attention  is  to  be  fixed,  and 
held  undiverted ;  where  strength  and  safety  may 
be  found  at  all  times,  as  well  as  that  from  which 
dangers  may  be  apprehended.  Either  to  wear 
themselves  out  in  watching  phantoms,  or  to  com- 
mit themselves  to  false  securities,  is  unworthy  de- 
sertion of  duty.  Being  responsible  for  the  interests 
committed  to  them,  they  should  use  all  their  cou- 
rage, discretion,  and  manly  ability,  so  to  fulfil  their 
engagements  that  they  may  result  in  an  honourable 
and  happy  discharge. 

You,  my  brethren,  are  placed  in  this  life  under 


LYING  VANITIES.  Jg5 

a  charge  of  ob-ervation.  On  one  side  of  you  is 
the  region  of  shadows  and  airy  forms,  which  fly 
about  in  fantastic  mazes ;  on  the  other  side  is  the 
region  of  reahties,  veiled  in  images  which  insult 
not  the  sense  by  idle  mockeries,  but  which  are 
brightened  continually  by  their  inherent  virtues. 
Strangely  perverted,  and  wholly  depraved,  as  is 
the  constitution  of  your  mind,  you  are  looking 
away  from  the  region  of  realities  to  that  of  sha- 
dows, and  employing  your  ingenuity  to  convince 
yourselves  and  others,  that  the  unsubstantial  forms 
in  that  paradise  of  fools,  are  the  solid  good  which 
you  should  seek,  and  that  the  true  good  is  the 
vision  which  you  should  avoid.  By  a  most  perni- 
cious talent  at  misnaming  things,  you  are  calling 
bitter  sweet,  and  sweet  bitter,  &c. 

Your  hearts  are  drawn  towards  the  light  and  su- 
perficial things  that  play  and  glitter  in  momentary 
gayety  about  your  path ;  vanity  looks  great,  in  a  sort 
of  unreal  magnificence,  a  magnificence  which  one 
glance  at  eternity  dissipates,  which  subsides  into 
nothing  the  very  moment  truth  pronounces  her 
righteous  decisions.  The  material  world  is  that 
which  now  engrosses  your  whole  attention.  Its 
colours,  its  dimensions,  its  figures  and  proportions, 
are  the  idols  which  abuse  your  devotion.  You  seem 
not  yet  to  be  awake  to  the  fact  that  these  forms  are 
destructible,  that  the  sohdity  of  bodies,  the  beauty 
of  images,  and  the  whole  strength  of  corporeal 


I  gg  LYING  VANITIES. 

nature,  are  yielding  to  constant  and  successive 
changes,  and  will  ultimately  yield  to  that  irre- 
parable dissolution  to  which  the  mandate  of  God 
has  already  summoned  them. 

By  such  a  course  you  are  manifestly  forsaking 
your  own  mercies.  That  which  is  to  be  most 
tributary  to  your  happiness,  is  not  the  visible  but 
the  invisible,  not  the  material,  but  the  immaterial, 
not  the  temporal  but  the  spiritual.  You  will  soon 
have  discharged  the  functions  of  the  corporeal 
part,  and  have  passed  disembodied  into  the  spiri- 
tual grade  of  being.  There  will  accompany  you 
thither,  not  one  of  the  provocatives  of  sensation, 
not  one  of  the  ministers  of  temporal  pleasure ;  all 
these  will  be  left  on  this  side  of  the  grave,  while 
on  the  other  side  you  must  have  a  new  class  of 
associates,  a  new  range  of  vision,  and  other  mate- 
rials for  the  occupation  of  your  leisure.  There 
you  will  reap,  and  be  for  ever  reaping  the  harvest 
planted  in  this  world.  If  you  have  sown  vanity, 
you  will  be  reaping  vanity  for  ever,  that  will  be 
your  recompense.  An  immutable  law  will  secure 
to  you  fruitions  and  sufferings  there  in  most  exact 
proportion  to  the  occupations  of  the  spirit  here. 

The  prophet  Jonah  stands  out  to  our  view  on 
the  sacred  page  in  the  most  contradictory  attri- 
butes. The  only  known  recreant  of  all  the  pro- 
phets, he  is,  nevertheless,  the  object  of  divine  in- 
dulgence to  a  wonderful  degree.     Angry  at  the 


LYING  VANITIES.  267 

mercy  of  God,  he  seems  to  need  more  than  others 
that  mercy  which  he  blames  and  deprecates. 
Disgraced  and  viUfied  as  an  outcast,  he  is  yet 
selected  as  a  type,  and  thus  honoured  as  a  model 
after  which  should  be  fashioned  the  time  and  man- 
ner of  the  Saviour's  death  and  burial.  A  fugitive 
from  God,  and  the  terror  of  men,  weeping  and 
repining  at  the  withering  of  a  gourd,  and  yet  re- 
conciled to  the  destruction  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  infants,  to  preserve  his  credit  as 
a  prophet;  what  a  mass  of  contradictions!  What 
a  contumacious  spirit  towards  God !  What  tender- 
ness for  himself,  what  cold  indifference  to  the  fate 
of  his  fellow  men ! 

Fugitives  from  the  requisitions  of  the  Lord, 
behold  in  the  self-excusing  prophet  a  picture  of 
yourselves !  It  is  true  you  have  not  been  sent  on 
a  mission  of  vengeance  to  some  guilty  land,  the 
measure  of  whose  iniquities  was  nearly  full ; 
neither  are  you  chargeable  with  the  folly  of 
attempting  to  escape  the  responsibilities  of  duty 
by  flying  to  some  distant  country ;  but,  like  Jonah, 
you  disesteem  the  mercy  of  God,  by  neglecting  to 
avail  yourselves  of  it ;  like  him,  you  are  framing 
and  contriving  plans  to  evade  the  calls  of  duty, 
and  thus  delaying  your  compliance  with  his  com- 
mands; and  though,  like  him,  you  may  not  think 
that  you  would  do  well  to  be  openly  angry  with 
Providence,  yet  you  are  manifestly  discontented 


168 


LYING  VANITIES. 


with  the  methods  of  his  mercy ;  you  quarrel  in 
your  hearts  with  the  great  system  of  compassion 
and  grace  through  Christ. 

But  though  Jonah  was  far  from  being  a  man  of 
practical  piety,  he  was  really  an  able  preacher  ; 
his  powerful  voice,  his  bold,  unsparing  denuncia- 
tions, his  pungent  rebukes  and  pathetic  appeals, 
roused  a  guilty  city,  and  brought  down  the  king 
himself  from  his  soft  and  sumptuous  robes  and 
his  throne,  to  sackcloth  and  ashes.  He  must 
have  uttered  many  weighty  and  important  truths. 
That  in  the  text  is  striking  and  most  considerable. 
He  had  most  probably  found  it  true  in  his  own 
experience:  "They  that  observe  lying  vanities 
forsake  their  own  mercy." 

Here  is  a  most  pernicious  occupation  pursued 
at  a  fearful  expense. 

1.  Here  is  drawn  the  character  of  those  of  you 
who  think  your  way  is  better  than  the  Lord's. 
The  misguided  prophet  was  a  man  of  this  stamp. 
The  opposite  to  what  was  commanded,  was  the 
only  thing  which  he  would  do.  When  ordered 
to  go  to  Nineveh,  no  place  would  suit  his  purpose 
but  Tarshish.  And  when  finally  he  went,  and  by 
proclaiming  the  judgments  of  God  upon  the  people 
of  that  city,  brought  them  so  to  repentance  and 
reformation  that  the  Lord  averted  the  threatened 
visitation,  then  nothing  seemed  less  to  please  him 
than  that  mercy  which  had  spared  guilty  thou- 


LYING  VANITIES.  JgQ 

sands.  He  went  to  the  Lord  with  a  kind  of  com- 
plaining, insolent  speech,  which  is  called  a  prayer, 
to  find  fault  with  his  lenity  and  compassion.  So 
it  was  with  the  rebellious  charge  of  the  prophet 
Samuel.  Having  discovered  that  it  was  contrary 
to  the  divine  counsel  for  them  at  that  time  to  have 
a  king,  nothing  could  satisfy  them  to  live  without 
one.  Their  demands  for  such  a  vanity  became 
importunate,  just  in  proportion  as  the  prophet  dis- 
suaded the  things  and  though  he  forewarned  them 
of  the  slavery  and  wretchedness  which  they  were 
imprecating  upon  themselves,  their  impetuous 
temper  for  enthralment  was  in  no  degree  checked. 
In  a  much  later  period,  the  whole  Israelitish  na- 
tion furnished  a  most  disastrous  instance  of  a  dis- 
position to  prefer  their  own  way  to  the  way  of 
God.  That  Christ  whom  God  appointed  and  or- 
dained to  be  their  deliverer  from  the  bondage  of 
sin  and  death,  and  the  way  of  repentance  and 
faith,  by  which  deliverance  was  to  be  realised, 
was  a  provision  most  opposite  to  their  views.  The 
reverse  of  the  Saviour's  character  and  ministry 
would  have  pleased  them  exceedingly. 

Is  not  this  a  true  picture  of  those  of  you,  who 
to  this  time  are  living  in  the  total  neglect  of  the 
great  salvation  ?  Duty  requires  the  concentration 
of  your  whole  heart  upon  the  Lord,  as  set  forth  in 
his  holiness,  goodness  and  truth.  You,  however, 
are  better  pleased  with  the  total  abstraction  of 

15 


1  i^Q  LYING  VANITIES. 

your  hearts  from  all  communications  with  him. 
The  Lord's  way  is  to  subdue  your  unbelief,  to 
bring  down  the  loftiness  of  your  hearts,  to  divorce 
your  soul  from  its  earthly  attachments ;  your  way 
is  to  surrender  yourselves  to  the  dominion  of 
doubt,  to  cultivate  all  the  perversities  within  you, 
and  to  exclude  from  your  heart  all  the  gracious 
and  godly  affections.  According  to  his  way,  your 
chief  pleasure  should  be  found  in  the  sanctities  of 
a  renovated  nature,  in  the  spiritualities  of  a  godly 
conversation,  in  righteousness,  peace  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  according  to  your  way,  the 
chief  delight  is  to  follow  the  mind  of  the  flesh,  to 
gratify  its  distempered  appetites,  to  strengthen  its 
enmity  by  indulgence,  and  to  become  as  indepen- 
dent of  God  as  possible.  When  the  inspired  word 
commands  you  to  work  out  your  salvation,  then 
your  complaint  is  that  you  have  no  power,  and 
that  the  requisition  is  a  hard  one.  But  should 
that  same  infallible  teacher  strive  to  convince  you 
of  your  utter  impotence  and  helplessness,  you  are 
still  more  dissatisfied  with  the  charge  of  incapa- 
city to  help  yourselves.  When  it  is  the  Lord's 
time  for  you  to  be  sad,  then  it  is  yours  to  rejoice ; 
and  when  he  would  call  you  to  rejoicing,  then 
indeed  it  suits  you  to  be  melancholy.  What  he 
would  have  you  to  hate,  you  love;  and  the  objects 
on  which  he  calls  you  to  place  your  love,  are  those 
to  which  you  cannot  look  with  any  kind  feeling. 


LYING  VANITIES.  Ji^l 

He  enjoins  conversion  and  regeneration  as  the 
only  means  of  bettering  your  moral  character ; 
you  imagine  that  you  can  be  good  enough  without 
these,  and  therefore  Hve  in  the  neglect  of  them ; 
he  informs  you  distinctly  that  this  life  is  not  your 
final,  but  your  preparatory  state,  and  you  tell  him 
plainly  that  to  you  it  is  final,  and  that  you  look  for 
no  ulterior  condition  of  being. 

You  thus,  practically,  at  least,  take  a  position 
in  opposition  to  him  who  made  you,  and  qualified 
you  for  a  momentous  destination.  And  who  are 
you,  that  you  should  oppose  your  caprice  to  the 
will  of  Omnipotence  ?  What  majestic  vanities  are 
you,  who  exhibit  such  singular  extremes  of  might 
and  meanness  ?  What  inflated  reptiles  to  crawl 
up  into  the  notice  of  heaven,  to  contest  his  de- 
mands and  reverse  his  ordinations  ?  "  Wo  to  him 
that  striveth  with  his  Maker !"  What  depravity  is 
that  which  impels  you,  what  folly  is  that  which 
betrays  you  into  the  presumption  of  placing  your 
ways  and  plans  before  those  of  the  Almighty? 
The  whole  Bible  speaks  but  to  confound  and  con- 
fute your  mischievous  temerity.  By  the  illumina- 
tions that  stream  forth  from  it,  you  must  see  the 
bad  condition  to  which  sin  has  reduced  you.  To 
avoid  the  perception  of  your  hearts'  estrangement 
from  God,  with  such  light  flooding  your  path, 
would  be  no  less  difficult  than  to  quench  the  sense 
of  all  external  objects  under  the  light  of  intense 


Ji^'O  LYING  VANITIES. 

noon.  Are  you  not  yourselves  burdened  with  the 
consciousness  that  nothing  short  of  conversion  and 
regeneration  can  reconcile  your  hearts  to  the  pre- 
sence and  service  of  the  Lord  Almighty  ?  And 
does  there  not  come  spontaneously  upon  you  the 
dread  of  that  holy  Being  in  whose  hand  your 
breath  is,  and  to  whose  mandates  you  are  every 
moment  answerable?  Are  you  not  conscious  of 
being  obnoxious  to  the  censures  of  his  justice, 
and  of  being  lost  and  ruined  creatures  without  his 
mercy?  In  the  neglect  of  religion,  then,  you  are 
not  only  choosing  and  preferring  what  the  Lord 
reprobates  and  abhors,  but  are  at  most  unnatural 
variance  with  yourselves.  The  convictions  of  your 
hearts,  and  the  decisions  of  enlightened  reason 
unite  in  persuading  you  to  renounce  the  folly  of 
irreligion.  This  your  way  is  your  folly.  Though 
at  present  pleasing  in  appearance,  it  leads  down 
to  the  chambers  of  death.  Set  yourselves  to 
meditate,  addict  yourselves  to  the  unused  and 
forsaken  habit  of  thinking.  Turn  upon  yourselves 
the  anxious  search  of  sincere  inquirers  after  hap- 
piness. Lie  no  longer  quiet  in  the  embraces  of 
killing  corruptions.  Rest  not  until  your  spirits 
are  disenthralled;  cease  not  to  struggle  against 
your  destroyers,  until  your  reason  shall  be  released 
from  bondage,  and  your  whole  nature  rescued 
from  the  captivity  of  sin. 

2.  You  may  see  in  the  text  the  character  of  your 


LYING  VANITIES.  I'y^ 

occupations.  The  objects  of  them  give  them  their 
character.  Lying  vanities  is  the  name  assigned 
them  in  the  text.  In  the  original  it  is  Vanities  of 
va7iity*  There  is  Uttleness  and  unmeaning  pue- 
rihty  in  the  most  lofty  employments  of  those  minds 
which  are  drawn  off  from  piety  and  the  serious 
contemplation  of  the  divine  nature.  Those  mental 
pursuits  which  seem  most  rational  and  dignified, 
when  followed  to  the  exclusion  of  God,  are  mean 
and  grovelling;  for  what  can  befit  the  greatest 
intellect  except  truth,  and  where  is  truth  if  we 
stop  short  of  God.  The  mind  may  explore  and 
comprehend,  and  admire  the  mechanism  of  nature, 
but  will  be  playing  an  idle  game  if  it  reach  not 
forth  its  piercing  thought  to  the  great  God  of 
nature.  The  merest  babes  in  reflection  and  ob- 
servation, would  scarcely  trifle  to  such  a  degree, 
as  to  lose  the  idea  of  the  inventor  whilst  admiring 
the  invention,  as  to  forget  the  skill  of  the  builder 
whilst  viewing  with  delight  the  building,  or  to  omit 
all  respect  for  the  cause,  whilst  occupied  with  the 
effects.  All  who  pause  in  their  progress  of  thought 
before  they  reach  and  adore  the  great  and  holy 
God,  are  triflers.  How  much  soever  they  may 
pride  themselves  upon  the  honour  and  superiority 
of  their  occupation,  they  are  but  triflers.  They 
are  constructing  toys,  weaving  attenuated  threads 


15 


# 


I'yA  LYING  VANITIES. 

into  a  web  so  fragile,  that  the  passing  breeze  will 
break  it.  Their  employment  is  as  grave  and 
worthy,  as  that  of  the  great  king  who  busied  him- 
self in  carding  and  spinning  wool,  or  of  the  mighty 
emperor  whose  daily  work  was  to  catch  and  im- 
pale flies  and  gnats.  Your  loftiest  aspirations,  if  un- 
warmed  by  the  desire  of  God,  are  vented  into  air ; 
your  intensest  pleasures,  if  unhallowed  by  the  pre- 
sence of  pious  gratitude,  are  but  transient  dreams. 
Your  gravest  avocations,  your  most  specious 
morality,  your  most  happy  competence,  or  ample 
wealth,  if  destitute  of  God,  is  but  a  sober-faced 
vanity.  The  world  itself  if  unadorned,  uninspired, 
uninhabited  by  Deity  must  be  to  you  like  the  fir- 
mament without  light,  as  darkness  and  confusion 
rolled  together. 

The  lying  vanities  of  the  text  is  an  expression 
intended  to  describe  the  idols  of  the  heathen.  The 
idolatries  of  the  ancient  world,  as  well  as  those  of 
all  ages,  consisted  in  the  worship  of  finite  or  created 
objects.  For  the  most  part  images  of  these  ob- 
jects were  formed  and  presented  to  the  eye 
of  the  worshipper.  In  some  cases  the  worship 
was  sustained  without  the  intervention  of  im- 
ages. But  the  principle  and  the  ground  of  the 
world's  defection  from  God,  have  been  the  same 
in  all  ages.  The  principle  is  still  the  same.  The 
human  soul  is  so  formed  and  constituted  as  to  be 


LYING  VANITIES.  Jj^i^g 

capable  of  apprehending  and  adoring  the  eternal 
Maker.  When,  however,  it  stops  short  of  the 
holy  and  infinitely  perfect  God,  and  reposes 
and  pauses  upon  something  less  than  He,  there  is 
defection.  And  then  it  is  that  the  something 
upon  which  the  soul  reposes,  however  good  and 
real  in  itself  as  a  production  of  the  Maker,  be- 
comes a  lying  vanity.  The  ancient  heathen,  by 
their  defection,  thus  converted  some  of  the  most 
transcendent  objects  of  creation  into  vanities^ 
such  as  the  stars,  planets,  and  the  sun.  And  in 
honour  of  these  objects  they  contrived  and  brought 
into  operation  the  whole  machinery  of  temples, 
altars,  sacrifices,  priests,  and  such  like  things. 
Thus  effectually  did  they  arrest  the  tendency  of 
the  soul  in  its  progress  towards  God.  The  spirits 
that  were  soaring  towards  the  infinite  and  uncre- 
ated One,  were  stopped  in  their  flight,  and  in- 
forme  d  that  their  illimitable  excursion  might  be 
reduced  within  some  reasonable  bounds,  by  the 
selection  of  the  planet  Jupiter,  or  the  Sun  as  the 
point  of  termination.  They  were  made  to  think 
that  it  was  perfectly  needless  to  ascend  any  higher 
in  quest  of  an  object  of  worship.  And  they,  who 
were  not  inclined  to  any  lofty  flight,  but  who  ra- 
ther sought  a  something  upon  which  they  might 
repose,  and  upon  which  they  might  expend  their 
devotion,  among  sublunary  things,  were  referred 
to  various  objects  on  earth.     They  might  worship 


2»yg  LYING  VANITIES. 

the  primary  elements,  or  the  silly  abstractions  of 
superstitious  minds,  or  the  hideous  phantoms  of 
lust  and  folly,  formed  into  material  figures.  The 
spirit  of  defection  from  the  Lord,  was  most  truly 
accommodating.  Its  ingenuity  could  suit  every 
taste,  its  inventions  were  adequate  to  every  emer- 
gency. And  no  man  was  compelled  to  be  with- 
out some  vanity  consecrated  with  the  name  of  re- 
ligion, where  so  much  care  and  genius  were  placed 
in  requisition  to  please  the  varying  tempers  of 
each  and  of  all  together. 

But  the  lying  vanities  of  the  heathen  world  do 
not  so  much  concern  you,  as  the  lying  vanities  of 
that  world  now  miscalled  Christian.  Why  is  it 
that  having  been  placed  so  long  upon  the  vantage 
ground  of  revelation  you  have  yet  to  begin  the 
work  of  ascending  to  God  ?  with  a  spirit  so  long 
winged  for  flight,  you  have  not  yet  begun  to  soar  ? 
with  the  unity  of  God  before  you,  a  sort  of  pan- 
theism is  the  sum  of  your  religion.  I  see  you  stop- 
ping short  of  God  and  resting  upon  some  created 
thing.  You  are  intercepted  in  your  approach  to 
Him,  by  the  material  world.  The  entire  system 
of  organised  and  animated  bodies  constituting  the 
visible  universe,  is  the  result  of  a  wise  and  bene- 
ficent design.  By  the  whole  economy  of  this  sys- 
tem of  things  your  minds,  if  uncorrupt,  would  be 
conducted  near  to  the  Maker  of  all  things.  The 
first  and  the  last  link  in  the  golden  chain  of  crea- 


LYING  VANITIES.  j  i^iy 

tion  would  be  seen  depending  from  God,  and  lead- 
ing to  Him.  But  the  very  stability  and  order  of 
nature,  is  by  you  formed  into  one  of  those  lying 
vanities,  which  must  mock,  while  it  invites  your 
repose.  A  type  of  yourselves  may  be  found  in  the 
native  Indian  who  visited  the  Moravian  mission- 
aries in  Labrador.  He  had  received  some  in- 
struction in  the  Christian  religion,  and  when  asked 
whether  he  had  any  thoughts  about  the  conver- 
sion of  his  soul,  replied,  "  We  are  not  unbelievers, 
for  we  know  all  about  Jesus  Christ."  He  asked 
whether  it  was  true  that  this  earth  would  be  de- 
stroyed. The  missionaries  told  him,  it  was  true. 
"  Then,"  said  he,  "  as  the  earth  stands  fast,  and  is 
not  yet  moved,  I  will  wait  a  little,  before  I  think  of 
conversion."*  He  was  for  slumbering  on  a  little 
longer  in  the  security  of  his  ungodly  state,  because 
he  did  not  feel  the  earth  reeling  and  tottering  be- 
neath him.  This  is  the  antiquated  vanity  which  be- 
came the  ground  of  false  repose  to  the  sinners 
contemporary  with  the  Apostle  Peter.  They  be- 
held all  things  continuing  as  they  had  been  from 
the  beginning  of  the  creation.  2  Pet.  iii.  4.  It 
was  the  same  delusion  that  had  emboldened  the 
confidence  of  much  earlier  transgressors.  The 
warning  voice  of  righteous  Lot  when  opposed  to 
the  established  order  of  nature,  seemed  like  a 

*  Vol.  for  1836.     Mor.  Miss.  Intel!,  p.  339. 


■I  lyo  LYING  VANITIES. 

mockery ;  Gen.  xix.  14.     The  same  insolent  pre- 
sumption animated  the  impiety  and  wickedness 
of  those  to  whom   the  prophets  dehvered  their 
message.     To  all  the  threatenings  of  the  Lord, 
they  made  this  one  reply.    "  Let  him  make  speed 
and  hasten  his  work,  that  we  may  see  it,  and  let 
the  counsel  of  the  holy  One  of  Israel  draw  nigh 
and  come,  that  we  may  know  it.     Evil  shall  not 
come  upon  us,  where  is  the  word  of  the  Lord  ?  let 
it  come  now."     Isa.  v.   19.     Jer.  v.   12.     They 
saw  no  change  in  the  aspect  of  nature,  perceived 
no  revolution  in  the  laws  of  creation,  the  earth 
stood  fast^  and  they,  therefore,  counted  upon  their 
usual  impunity  in  sin.   And  this,  sinners,  is  a  main 
reason  why  you  procrastinate   your  conversion, 
and  persist  in  your  estrangement  from  God.     If 
Omnipotence  would  but  cleave  this  solid  earth,  or 
shake  it  as  an  atom  from  its  settled  order,  you 
would  then  begin  to  tremble  and  seek  conversion. 
If  the  heavens  should  begin  to  be  rolled  together 
like  a  scroll,  and  the  elements  to  melt  with  fer- 
vent heat,  then  you  would  agree  to  be  roused  from 
your  sleep,  or,  if  instead  of  the   annunciations  of 
mercy,  you  should  hear  those  of  judgment,  and 
the  form  of  the  mighty  angel  should  appear  to  you, 
swearing  with  uplifted  hand,  that  time  should  be 
no  longer,  you  might  then  be  persuaded  to  think 
that  your  confidence  in  the  stability  of  nature's 
laws  is  unsafe.     But  what  signifies  to  you  the 


LYING  VANITIES.  li^Q 

firmness  of  nature's  laws  ?  Whatever  adamantine 
solidity  or  unchangeableness  they  may  possess, 
matters  nothing  to  you.  Upon  the  whole  corpo- 
real order,  you  will  soon  close  your  eyes.  In  re- 
gard to  you,  the  intense  glory  of  the  sun  will  soon 
be  quenched,  the  earth  riven  asunder,  the  ele- 
ments dissolved,  the  heavens  passed  away  ! 

Permit  me  to  expose  to  your  tardy  apprehen- 
sion another  of  those  impudent  deceits  on  which 
your  deluded  hearts  are  resting.     Look  yonder, 
and  you  may  see  it  in  the  most  public  places  of 
resort.     It  has  a  business-like  appearance.     It  is, 
in  truth,  that  which  you  name   business,  in  it- 
self a  proper  and  commendable  thing,  but  abused 
by  you  to  a  pernicious  instrumentality.  It  supplies 
you  an  occasion  of  defection  from  God,  and  be- 
comes the  corrosive  to  all  genuine  piety.  It  is  what 
you  esteem  more  than  the  Scriptures,  because  you 
study  it  more ;  it  is  dearer  to  you  than  your  devo- 
tions, because  you  are  so  much  more  cordial  to- 
wards it.  The  imputation  of  being  once-a-day-men 
at  your  business,  you  would  consider  nearly  fatal  to 
your  reputation.     But  to  have  that  character  in 
the   worship  of  God,   gives   you   no   uneasiness. 
Does  not  this  show  that  your  business  is  dearer 
than   your   devotion?     The   idea  of  making  no 
progress  in  your  business,  but  rather  of  suffering  a 
backward  tendency,  would  be  sufficient  to  send 
you  home  depressed,  dispirited,  and  of  a  forlorn 


■I  OQ  LYING  VANITIES. 

visage  ;  but  the  idea  of  being  stationary,  or  even 
retrograde  in  religion,  gives  you  no  uneasiness, 
breaks  none  of  your  slumbers,  causes  no  dejected 
looks.  If  the  god^  business,  smiles  and  looks  pro- 
pitious, you  are  happy  enough,  even  though  the 
Holy  Spirit,  whereby  we  are  sealed  to  the  day  of 
redemption,  be  grieved  and  offended.  Alas !  you 
are  leaving  your  souls  in  the  hands  of  that  lying 
vanity  called  business.  You  have  got  this  vanity 
legalised  and  even  baptized,  and  the  homage  you 
give  it  is  therefore  all  right ! 

There  is  a  sort  of  defection  from  God,  which 
bears  before  it  the  pretext  of  religion.  It  is  the 
upper  garment  of  religion,  and  therefore  makes  the 
wearer  resemble  a  person  truly  pious.  You  will 
generally  be  able  to  distinguish  such  by  one  pro- 
minent peculiarity.  They  are  always  taking  most 
scrupulous  pains  to  adjust  and  smooth  that  over- 
coat which  forms  their  covering,  whilst  the  less 
visible  portions  of  their  dress  are  permitted  to  re- 
main in  disorder.  That  is,  (to  speak  without  a 
figure,)  they  are  much  more  particular  and  scru- 
pulous in  observing  the  ceremonials,  than  the 
essentials  of  religion.  To  them  the  shadow  is 
more  than  the  substance.  The  omission  of  some- 
thing needless,  or  even  absurd,  would  shock  them, 
whilst  the  weightier  matters  of  truth  and  sanctity 
may  be  consigned  to  neglect,  without  ever  costing 
them  a  groan.   Saul,  first  king  of  Israel,  furnishes 


LYING  VANITIES. 


181 


a  very  considerable  instance  of  this.  So  regard- 
less was  he  of  the  essentials  of  true  religion,  as 
to  interrupt  the  priest  Ahiah,  who  was  engaged 
in  the  solemn  service  of  asking  counsel  of  God  on 
a  great  occasion,  and  to  postpone  obedience  to  a 
positive  command  of  the  Lord,  under  the  plea  of 
offering  sacrifice;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  no- 
thing but  the  open  resistance  of  the  people  could 
restrain  him  from  drenching  his  hands  in  the  blood 
of  his  own  son,  for  having  ignorantly  violated  a 
preposterous  oath. 

There  is  extreme  peril  to  the  souls  of  hypocrites. 
It  may  be  almost  questionable  whether  confirmed 
hypocrites  are  in  a  salvable  state.  They  are  such 
dupes  of  the  devil,  such  framers  of  deceit  and  lies, 
under  such  abandonment  as  to  truth  and  sincerity, 
as  to  leave  but  little  hope  of  reformation. 

3.  The  injury  which  you  inflict  upon  yourselves 
by  indulging  your  hearts'  defection  from  the  Lord, 
is  a  matter  worthy  of  your  consideration.  You 
forsake  your  own  mercy.  You  leave  honour  and 
dignity  to  pursue  shame  and  contempt.  You  re- 
linquish your  just  claim  to  happiness  for  the  be- 
guilements  of  sin,  and  the  woful  results  which 
follow  it.  You  turn  away  from  the  light,  only  to 
be  plunged  in  darkness,  from  which  dismal  sounds 
of  despair  will  at  least  be  heard.  Examine  care- 
fully and  solemnly  ponder  the  dreadful  sacrifices 

16 


I  go  LYING  VANITIES. 

to  be  made  in  the  prosecution  of  a  life  of  ungod- 
liness. 

The  reasonable  hope  of  forgiveness  is  abandon- 
ed. It  is  certain  that  there  is  no  present  forgive- 
ness to  those  whose  hearts  are  hardened  by  the 
god  of  this  world.  Their  impenitence  is  a  most 
awful  proof  of  their  unpardoned  state.  Their 
reliance  upon  treacherous  vanities  is  the  surest 
way  to  keep  them  impenitent,  and  to  deprive 
them  of  all  the  helps  of  mercy.  And  should  not 
a  thinking  mortal  reflect  calmly  and  anxiously  be- 
fore he  consents  to  let  go  the  benefits  of  pardoning 
mercy?  Nothing  but  pardon  from  the  Lord  of 
mercy  and  grace,  can  release  us  from  the  obliga- 
tions under  which  the  sentence  of  the  law  consigns 
us  to  punishment.  This  release  is  given  only  to 
true  repentance.  The  inevitable  consequence, 
then,  of  the  continued  observation  of  lying  vani- 
ties must  be  the  seal  of  final  impenitence,  and  the 
certainty  of  eternal  death. 

Perseverance  in  estrangement  from  the  Lord, 
is  an  implied  rejection  of  the  addresses  of  his 
Spirit.  Israel's  proneness  to  idolatrous  defections, 
is  charged  upon  them  as  the  sin  of  resisting  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Actsvii.  51.  The  mercy  of  spiritual 
visitations  to  your  hearts  stupified  by  sin,  with  the 
design  of  quickening  them  into  life,  is  one  of  the 
greatest  acts  of  the  divine  condescension.     The 


LYING  VANITIES.  Jg3 

Strivings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  all  instances  of 
signal  mercy.  They  help  to  restrain  your  head- 
long movements  in  the  downward  course  of  sin, 
they  are  the  kind  whisperings  of  affectionate 
admonition,  urging  you  to  return  to  him  against 
whom  you  have  deeply  revolted;  they  are  the 
genial  influences  which  would  create  within  you 
a  new  principle  of  vitality,  and  form  you  into 
living  temples  for  the  habitation  of  God.  Upon 
all  these  mercies  you  turn  your  back,  by  that 
guilty  adhesion  to  vanity  in  which  you  so  resolutely 
persist.  Deity,  present  and  propitious  to  your 
hearts,  is  grieved,  is  insulted.  Deity,  with  the 
riches  of  his  grace,  with  his  fulness  of  communi- 
cable light  and  felicity,  with  his  rewarding  justice 
and  saving  mercy,  is  rejected,  and,  instead  of  Him, 
a  lie  becomes  your  confidence. 

The  crucified  and  risen  Saviour  is  forsaken  by 
all  the  infatuated  multitude  of  creature  worship- 
pers. Those  of  you  who  withhold  your  confidence 
from  Christ,  are  charged  by  him  with  criminal 
defection.  He  that  believeth  not  is  condemned 
already.  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned. 
The  deep  demerit  upon  which  the  judgment  of 
God  against  you  proceeds,  is  not  only  disbelief, 
but  unbelief;  not  only  open  and  avowed  opposition 
to  him,  but  the  distrust  of  him ;  not  only  the  gain- 
saying of  his  doctrines  and  commands,  but  the 
failure  of  obedience.     You  may  be  possibly  so- 


Jg^  LYING  VANITIES. 

lacing  yourselves  with  the  idea  that  you  are  at 
worst  not  the  enemies  of  the  Saviour ;  that  you 
stand  not  in  those  hostile  ranks  which  display  the 
ensigns  of  studied  rebellion,  and  that,  therefore, 
you  are  the  less  criminal.  Flatter  not  yourselves 
with  such  a  deception.  You  have  not  come  up 
with  the  whole  consent  of  your  minds,  with  the 
confiding  dependence  of  your  whole  hearts,  doing 
honour  to  the  trustworthiness  of  Jesus  Christ,  to 
glorify  him  by  a  true  faith ;  and  it  is  for  what  you 
have  not  done  that  you  stand  guilty :  your  falling 
short,  your  defection,  is  the  ground  of  the  com- 
plaint against  you. 

Need  I  tell  you  that  in  this  defection  you  for- 
sake your  own  mercy?  In  stopping  short  of 
Christ,  you  leave  your  own  salvation  in  suspense; 
you  leave  yourselves  in  exposure  to  the  penal  in- 
flictions of  God's  violated  law.  In  stopping  short 
of  Christ,  you  close  against  yourselves  the  door  of 
hope  opened  by  him,  and  commit  yourselves  to  the 
outer  darkness ;  you  forsake  order  and  rush  into 
confusion;  leap  from  the  rock  into  the  yawning 
abyss;  you  abandon  friendship  and  love,  the  har- 
mony of  good  society,  the  sweet  fellowship  of  bro- 
thers, the  purity  of  a  spiritual  life,  and  the  hope  of 
heaven,  for  the  discord  and  tumult,  and  angry 
collisions,  fierce  rage,  and  eternal  despair  of  the 
ungodly. 


SERMON  IX. 


INSIPID  RELIGION. 


Rev,  iii.  15. — I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot. 

We  often  ask  why  the  Gospel  is  making  so  httle 
progress  in  the  world ;  and  why  that  race  of  beings 
for  who^e  benefit  it  was  intended,  so  generally 
turn  their  backs  upon  it,  and  treat  it  with  neglect. 
Not  only  do  we  seem  to  wonder  at  the  narrow 
limits  within  which  the  religion  of  the  Bible  is  shut 
up,  but  we  break  out  into  frequent  lamentations, 
and  deplore  with  all  the  show  of  unaffected  sor- 
row, such  a  state  of  things.  At  other  times  we 
appear  inclined  to  institute  a  serious  inquiry  into 
the  causes  which  may  possibly  counteract  the  dif- 
fusive tendencies  of  the  evangelical  dispensation; 
and  are  not  backward  to  resolve  and  even  to  pro- 
mise, that  should  our  search  result  in  the  detection 
of  the  cause  or  causes,  we  will  immediately  begin 
the  correction  of  the  evil,  and  will  not  cease  until 
every  let  and  impediment  shall  have  been  re- 
moved.   But,  alas !  when  we  find  the  troublers  of 

16* 


2gg  INSIPID  RELIGION. 

God's  Israel  in  our  own  breasts,  we  pause  and  par- 
ley long  before  we  can  consent  to  drag  them  to 
death.  Instead  of  pursuing  them  with  unsparing 
severity  until  the  work  of  a  holy  vindication  shall 
have  been  completed,  we  allow  them  quietly  to 
retreat  for  the  time,  to  some  concealment  still 
more  deep  and  secure,  within  that  habitation  from 
which  they  should  have  been  driven  by  the  expul- 
sive energies  of  regeneration.  And  what  is  equally 
deplorable,  when  these  troublers  are  found,  as 
found  they  often  are,  in  the  high  places  of  the 
church,  there  is  not  enough  of  vital  power  in  the 
body  to  detach  and  throw  them  off;  and  they  are 
left  like  scabs  which  adhere  to  it,  and  disfigure 
it  with  the  unsightly  documents  of  its  morbid 
state. 

There  is  one  hinderance  to  the  conquests  of 
the  Christian  religion,  which  has  been  often  ad- 
verted to,  often  exposed  to  notice,  and  defined 
with  painful  accuracy.  Still  it  remains  in  the 
way,  and  we  may  rationally  fear  always  will  re- 
main. It  is  the  lukewarmness  of  professing 
Christians.  In  other  words  it  may  be  termed  the 
negative  character  of  those  friends  whose  attri- 
butes and  actions  should  all  be  positive.  And 
if  negative  and  positive  are  the  reverse  of 
each  other,  by  reversing  the  lives  of  the  multi- 
tudes misnamed  Christians,  we  shall  have  them 
truly  Christians.     That  is  to  say,  convert  their 


INSIPID  RELIGION.  JQ'J' 

silence  into  speech,  their  indifference  into  feehng, 
their  supineness  into  action,  their  ignorance  into 
knowledge,  their  nothing  into  something;  they 
are  then  truly  the  people  of  God. 

The  Holy  Spirit  proposes  in  the  context  such 
a  conversion.  He  is  heartily  sick  of  the  whole 
Laodicean  tribe,  and  threatens  them  with  rejec- 
tion. He  clearly  shows  that  a  confirmed  state  of 
unbelief  and  cold  estrangement  from  God,  is  less 
reprehensible  in  his  view,  than  the  half-hearted- 
ness  of  lukewarm  professors.  And  this  is  reason- 
able, inasmuch  as  spurious  friendship  can  be  more 
injurious  to  us  than  open  enmity. 

The  text  itself  deserves  special  comment,  "  I 
know  thy  works."  They  are  the  offspring  of  indo- 
lence and  carnal  security.  They  are  the  withered 
fruit  of  branches  ill  attached  to  the  vine.  They 
are  the  drowsy  speculations  of  a  heartless  piety, 
in  which  has  been  extinguished  the  last  spark  of 
holy  fire.  "  I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither 
cold  nor  hot."  Thou  hast  taken  an  intermediate 
station  betwixt  the  living  and  fervid  adorers  and 
servants  of  the  Redeemer,  and  his  ice-hearted 
enemies  and  despisers.  Thou  art  arrogating  un- 
due credit  to  thyself  in  being  amongst  this  latter 
class,  and  excusing  thy  defection  from  the  grace 
and  duty  of  the  former.  Such  works  as  thine  are 
the  rubbish  of  the  church,  the  pestilent  accumula- 
tions which  infect  the  whole  atmosphere  of  Zion. 


1  OO  INSIPID  RELIGION. 

They  are  the  pretexts  of  the  ungodly,  the  argu- 
ments of  infidelity,  the  scandals  of  the  truth. 

In  attempting  to  describe  the  Laodicean  state  of 
religious  professors,  I  remark  in  it,  in  the  first  place, 
the  absence  of  any  positive  and  decided  character. 
It  has  a  character,  indeed,  but  not  a  fixed  one,  and 
hence  its  most  prominent  characteristic  is,  that  it 
has  no  settled  character,  it  is  neither  cold  nor  hot ; 
neither  freezing  nor  fervid ;  neither  the  insensibility 
of  spiritual  death,  nor  the  sensibility  of  spiritual 
life.  It  is  to  be  known  rather  by  what  it  is  not, 
than  by  what  it  is.  It  is  a  large  assemblage  of 
negatives,  which,  being  carefully  summed  up, 
amount  to  just  nothing.  The  true  Laodiceans 
are  so  affected  towards  the  Saviour,  that  they 
will  neither  love,  nor  hate  him;  neither  embrace 
his  religion,  nor  openly  renounce  it.  They  are 
equally  distant  from  the  joys  of  conversion,  and 
the  sorrows  of  repentance.  They  do  not  affect 
the  artifices  of  hypocrisy,  nor  yet  are  they  in  the 
guileless  temper  of  Israelites  indeed.  They  assent 
to  the  truth  without  loving  it ;  they  abstain  from 
sin  without  hating  it.  The  world  claims  them, 
whilst  the  church  contains  them.  To  which  party 
do  they  belong  ?  I  have  said,  that  they  have  no 
fixed  character.  This  perhaps  needs  some  cor- 
rection. They  are  statedly  indifferent,  and  mind- 
less as  to  the  great  and  proper  objects  of  Chris- 
tian pursuit.     Their  virtues,  if  virtues  they  have. 


INSIPID  RELIGION.  JgQ 

are  so  mingled  with  neutralising  ingredients  as  to 
resemble  those  diluted  stimulants  which  have  lost 
all  power  to  affect  the  sense.  They  become 
vapid  and  tasteless,  and  consequently  of  little  use. 
The  simile  of  the  Saviour  well  describes  them. 
They  are  the  salt  that  has  lost  its  savour.  Under 
the  name  of  salt,  it  is  fit  only  to  be  cast  forth  and 
trodden  under  foot  of  men.  And  the  prophet 
Isaiah,  in  dealing  with  the  lukewarmness  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived,  speaks  almost  directly  to 
the  view  now  before  us.  "  Thy  silver  is  become 
dross,  thy  wine  is  mixed  with  water."  Isaiah  i.  22. 
Their  very  morality  and  religion  were  so  mingled 
with  corrupting  adulterations,  as  to  lose  thereby 
their  distinctive  characters,  and  to  become  repro- 
bate as  to  all  good  and  practical  purposes.  The 
state  of  such  persons  is  described  not  unaptly  by 
the  prophet  Zeph.  i.  12.  They  are  "The  men 
settled  on  their  lees,  that  say  in  their  heart.  The 
Lord  will  not  do  good,  neither  will  he  do  evil." 
They  have  lost  all  dread  of  his  threatenings,  and 
all  hope  of  his  promises,  are  not  dismayed  by  his 
terrors,  nor  encouraged  by  his  mercies.  Luke- 
warm professors  are  here  most  fitly  described. 
Their  prayers  are  few  and  languid,  because  they 
do  not  expect  them  to  be  answered ;  their  chari- 
ties are  cold  and  unfrequent,  because  they  are 
without  an  incentive  from  the  love  of  God.  Their 
anxiety  for  reformation  and  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners, lies  in  indolent  repose,  because  they  say  in 


I  on  INSIPID  RELIGION. 

their  hearts,  the  Lord  will  not  do  evil.     That  is, 
will  not  punish  the  guilty. 

This  neutral  character,  if  not  in  direct  opposi- 
tion to  the  spirit  of  religion,  falls  short  of  it  by  a 
sad  disproportion.  To  use  a  figure,  it  makes  a 
period,  where  there  should  be  only  a  comma.  It 
stops  short  of  the  ardour  and  tension,  and  vivid 
working  of  the  soul,  that  reaches  forth  after  the 
incorruptibility  and  happiness  of  the  divine  life, 
and  seems  satisfied  with  the  laxity  and  irresolution 
of  half-awakened  spirits.  To  what  shall  we  liken 
such  tempers,  found,  as  they  often  are,  under  the 
solemn  obligations  of  religion  ?  A  man  sinking 
into  the  waves,  and  slowly  taking  between  his 
finger  and  thumb  the  rope  cast  out  to  save  him,  is 
a  faint  similitude.  Were  he  awake  to  his  danger 
he  would  seize  it  with  both  hands,  determined 
never  to  relax  his  grasp.  We  stand  by  and  see 
the  fang  of  a  rattlesnake  planted  in  a  vein  of  a 
mere  stranger,  and  a  humane  individual  present 
applies  his  mouth  to  the  wound  and  extracts  the 
poison,  and  thus  saves  him  from  a  horrid  death.* 
In  a  year  after  that  we  meet  the  rescued  man, 
and  he  coldly  inquires  of  us  the  name  of  his  bene- 
factor !  or  speaks  of  the  incident  as  something 
that  had  almost  passed  from  his  memory !  Here, 
then,  is  a  lukewarm  professor,  whose  emotions  of 
love  and  gratitude  to  Jesus,  the  benefactor  who 

*  Such  instances  have  been  frequent. 


INSIPID  RELIGION.  iQ-l 

has  nullified  the  burning  venom  of  the  old  serpent, 
are  as  languid  as  the  pulsations  of  a  dying  man. 
Here  is  the  lukeicarm  professor,  impressed  with 
no  obvious  or  indelible  marks,  characterised  by 
no  traits  which  denote  his  redemption  from  the 
curse  entailed  by  sin  upon  fallen  man. 

To  ascertain  how  opposite  to  a  relaxed  state  of 
the  moral  feelings  real  Christianity  is,  we  have 
only  to  consult  the  sayings  of  Christ.  Looking 
forward  to  the  excited  hostility  of  an  unbelieving 
world  against  his  disciples,  he  pronounces  these 
trying  terms  of  true  discipleship :  "He  that  loveth 
father  or  mother  more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of 
me ;  and  he  that  loveth  son  or  daughter  more  than 
me,  is  not  worthy  of  me.  And  he  that  taketh  not 
his  cross  and  followeth  after  me,  is  not  worthy  of 
me."  Mat.  x.  37,  38.  And  verse  39,  "He  that 
loseth  his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it."  Such  a 
devotion  to  the  Saviour,  as  is  here  required,  is  un- 
diluted with  worldly  mixtures.  It  is  not  the  half- 
stifled,  enervated  feeling  of  distant  respect;  but 
the  intense  fervour  of  love ;  a  love  which  leaves 
very  far  behind  all  competitors  for  the  heart's  su- 
premacy. By  the  side  of  such  a  love,  the  luke- 
warm spirit  is  as  disproportioned,  as  the  smoking 
flax  by  the  side  of  lightning. 

That  most  admirable  epitome  of  the  whole  law, 
under  the  same  divine  authority,  shows  the  strongly 
marked  and  decided  character  of  all  those  who 


■1  go  INSIPID  RELIGION. 

truly  obey  the  Lord.  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  first  and  great 
commandment."  Mat.  xxii.  37,  38.  A  scene  in 
the  last  interview  which  Christ  had  with  his  apos- 
tles after  his  resurrection,  and  just  before  his  as- 
cension, is  worthy  of  particular  notice  in  this  con- 
nexion. How  could  a  Laodicean  temper  have 
endured  the  thrice  repeated  question  to  Peter? 
It  would  have  fallen  upon  the  heartless  formalist 
like  the  curses  of  the  judgment  day.  It  would 
have  confounded  all  the  debilitated  faculties  of 
his  half-warmed  soul,  and  would  have  left  him 
speechless  with  dismay.  "  Lovest  thou  me '( 
Lovest  thou  me?  Lovest  thou  me  more  than 
these?"  This  solemn  questioning  almost  killed 
Peter.  It  would  have  killed  him  quite,  had  he 
not  been  a  true  man.  But  all  the  gratitude  of  a 
redeemed  sinner  burnt  in  his  bosom,  under  each 
repetition  of  the  affecting  query,  and  under  the 
unexpected  trial,  his  love  brightened  up  into  con- 
fidence. "Thou  knowest  all  things,  thou  knowest 
that  I  love  thee."  "Yes,  Peter,  I  do  know  it. 
Then  you  are  the  man  to  do  my  work.  Your  de- 
votion has  a  prominent  character.  It  stands  out 
in  clear  and  bold  delineation."  "Feed  my  lambs, 
feed  my  sheep !"  You,  whose  religion  is  of  the 
neither-cold-nor-hot  kind,  come  to  the  scene  now 
described,   and   learn  a   lesson.     Bring  forward 


INSIPID  RELIGION.  lOQ 

your  tepidity  of  heart,  that  nondescript  affection, 
and  tell  Jesus  it  is  the  only  oblation  by  which  you 
can  requite  his  benefactions.  Come  forth,  breath- 
ing the  half-dead  desires  of  an  almost  forgotten 
friendship,  and  inform  him  that  these  are  the  re- 
turns you  make  him  for  his  expenditure  of  blood 
in  your  behalf.  Move  languidly  towards  him,  as 
he  hangs  upon  the  cross,  abused  and  bleeding, 
and  while  he  endures  the  mysterious  passion  that 
makes  an  end  of  sin,  and  brings  in  an  everlasting 
righteousness,  and  bless  him  with  your  lukewarm 
civility,  greet  him  with  your  formal  respects  and 
compliments.  But  no !  such  an  effort  is  too  much 
for  your  religion. 

Open  advocates  for  that  nauseating  temperature 
in  the  religion  of  Christ,  styled  lukewarmness,  we 
should  suppose,  are  not  to  be  found.  But  apologists 
and  indirect  abettors,  are  many.  It  is  encouraged 
by  the  example  of  many  in  all  churches.  It  is  prac- 
tised, if  not  professed,  by  a  numerous  company. 
And,  let  me  remark,  they  have  the  signal  honour 
of  practically  contradicting  the  whole  apostle- 
ship,  because  this  devoted  brotherhood  proclaimed 
without  dissent  the  intensity  of  their  rehgion ; 
and  then  acted  fully  up  to  their  professions.  "  The 
love  of  Christ  constraineth  us,  because  we  thus 
judge,  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead ; 
and  that  he  died  for  all,  that  they  who  live  should 
not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  him 

17 


JQ^  INSIPID  RELIGION. 

who  died  for  them  and  rose  again."     2  Cor.  v.  14, 
15.     And  permitting  Paul  to  speak   for  all  the 
rest,  as  he  undoubtedly  expresses  what  they  all 
concurred  in,  Phil.  iii.  7 — 9,  we  shall  have  a  still 
more  striking  contrast  to  the  whole  Laodicean 
association.     "What   things   were   gain   to    me, 
those  I  counted  loss  for  Christ.     Yea,  doubtless, 
and  I  count  all  things  but  loss,  for  the  excellency 
of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord,  for 
whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  do 
count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may  win  Christ ;  and 
be  found  in  him,  not  having  my  own  righteousness 
which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the 
faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  of  God  by  faith." 
"I  press  toward  the  mark,  for  the  prize  of  the  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."     I  see  here  no 
irresolution,  no  wavering  of  purpose,  no  delay  of 
action,  no  intermitted  ardour. 

That  censurable  temperature  in  divine  things, 
which  the  text  condemns,  would  have  proved 
ruinous  to  Christianity,  had  it  existed  in  any  great 
degree  in  the  primitive  church.  It  was  not  the 
thing  to  give  an  impulse  to  those  magnanimous 
enterprises  which  signalised  the  course  of  early  be- 
lievers. It  was  not  the  likely  thing  to  stimulate 
languor,  to  invigorate  perseverance,  or  to  em- 
bolden timidity.  It  was  not  the  temper  suitable 
to  meet  perilous  occurrences,  nor  was  it  much  ad- 
dicted to  the  endurance  of  toils  and  sufferings 


INSIPID  RELIGION.  JQ^ 

when  they  did  occur ;  stripes  and  imprisonments, 
mockeries,  persecutions,  tortures  and  deaths  would 
have  annihilated  at  once  a  Christianity  so  relaxed. 
To  have  sent  out  men  of  such  temper  to  confront 
the  rude  blasts  of  opposition,  to  stand  before  the 
rage  of  the  heathen,  to  meet  the  consenting  blas- 
phemies of  an  ungodly  world,  would  have  been  an 
expedient  about  as  hopeful,  as  the  application  of 
a  broom  to  sweep  back  the  tides  of  ocean. 

And  of  what  avail  is  such  a  temper  in  the  pre- 
sent state  of  the  church  of  God  ?  Those  under 
its  influence  are  as  ill  qualified  to  carry  forward 
the  true  interests  of  Christ's  kingdom,  as  were 
their  ancient  prototypes  the  Laodiceans.  Instead 
of  doing  as  much  as  possible  to  increase  religion, 
they  do  as  little  as  possible  consistently  with  the 
credit  of  their  profession.  All  the  articles  consti- 
tuting their  round  of  observances,  are  such  as 
may  be  had  at  the  lowest  prices.  Their  prayers 
are  such  as  will  cost  them  the  least  time.  Their 
Sabbath  duties  are  curtailed  to  one  or  two  points, 
such  as  that  of  bringing  their  bodies  once,  but 
their  souls  never,  to  the  worshipping  assembly  on 
that  day.  Should  interest  and  conscience  contend 
for  the  mastery,  conscience  is  ordered  to  give  way, 
and  interest  rules,  not  the  hour  only,  but  the  day 
and  the  week.  The  ignorant  are  not  the  wiser 
for  their  godly  discourse,  the  afflicted  are  not  the 
less  miserable  for  their  prayers  and  counsels.     If 


jog  INSIPID  RELIGION. 

God  hears  them  pray,  it  is  a  wonder,  for  man 
hears  them  not.  If  they  take  and  examine  a  sub- 
scription Hst  intended  to  aid  pious  and  benevolent 
purposes,  they  survey  the  articles  as  they  look 
over  merchandise,  that  they  may  omit  the  expen- 
sive ones  and  take  those  that  are  cheap.  They 
are  great  advocates  for  all  plans  which  propose  to 
serve  God  at  little  cost,  either  of  time  or  money. 
If  the  world  employs  them  till  a  late  hour  on  Sa- 
turday night,  that  is  pretext  sufficient  to  lounge 
away  the  Lord's  day.  If  it  be  too  hot,  their  luke- 
warmness  cannot  bear  the  heat;  if  too  cold,  it 
cannot  endure  the  cold.  Activity  and  zeal,  labour 
and  self-denial,  except  in  the  service  of  the  flesh, 
are  not  adapted  to  their  taste.  Such  were  not 
the  instruments  with  which  the  Lord  founded  his 
kingdom  in  the  world,  they  are  not  the  ones  to 
build  it  up,  nor  to  people  heaven. 

Secondly.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  state 
described  as  neither  cold  nor  hot,  is  worse  than 
absolute  impenitence,  as  may  be  seen  from  the 
context.  "  I  would  thou  wert — cold  or  hot :  so 
then,  because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and  neither  cold 
nor  hot,  I  will  spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth." 

The  evil  of  lukewarmness  is  more  hateful  to 
God,  than  that  of  absolute  impenitence,  because 
it  is  more  in  contradiction  to  light  and  knowledge. 
It  is  an  advance  beyond  the  cold  state,  an  eleva- 
tion above  it,  and  therefore  implies  a  larger  mea- 


INSIPID  RELIGION. 


197 


sure  of  grace,  and  a  consequent  greater  abuse  of 
grace.     But  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
question  of  human  criminaUty  before  the  Lord, 
turns  not  so  much  upon  the  absolute  want  of  di- 
vine grace,  as  upon  the  abuse  of  it.     Many  por- 
tions of  the  word  of  God  might  be   adduced  to 
prove  this,  but  we  shall  refer  to  one  class  of  texts 
as  sufficient.     The  sin  of  unbelief,  according  to 
both  Testaments,  is  the  great  condemning  sin  of  the 
world.    That  sin,  however,  derives  both  its  nature 
and  its  aggravation  from  the  abuse  of  grace ;  for 
what  else  can  it  be,  than  the  wilful  rejection  of 
gospel  light,  or  the  perversion  of  that  light.     The 
conclusion  is  then  inevitable,  that  the  tepid  state 
rested  in,  and  obstinately  adhered  to,  is  more  cri- 
minal than  the  cold  state,  as  involving  a  greater 
abuse  of  grace.     A  person  in  the  lukewarm  state 
may  by  possibility  be  one  of  God's  elect,  but  a 
person  in  absolute  impenitence  may  possibly  be 
one  of  God's  purposed  elect.     Neither  party  can 
certainly  have  any  present  evidences  of  election, 
and    both   are  therefore  in  this  respect  upon  a 
perfect  parity  ;  while  in  another  respect,  they  are 
upon  different  grades  of  blameworthiness  in  the 
sight  of  the  righteous  Judge. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  Laodicean  class  are 
planted  in  the  vineyard  of  God,  like  weeds  infest- 
ing his  garden.  The  careful  cultivator  is  much 
more  offended  with  the  weeds  which  he  finds  in 

17* 


iftG  INSIPID  RELIGION. 

his  garden,  than  with  those  which  he  meets  out 
upon  the  common  field.  He  orders  those  found 
in  his  favourite  enclosure,  to  be  instantly  plucked 
up  and  cast  away,  while  the  other  class  are  per- 
mitted to  stand  and  grow.  "  Every  branch  in  me," 
says  the  Saviour,  "  that  beareth  not  fruit  he  taketh 
away."  The  Scripture  gives  a  keen  edge  to  all 
the  reproofs  which  it  deals  out  to  remiss  and  un- 
fruitful professors.  "  What  could  have  been  done 
to  my  vineyard,  that  I  have  not  done  in  it? 
wherefore,  when  I  looked  that  it  should  have 
brought  forth  grapes,  brought  it  forth  wild  grapes  ? 
I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do  to  my  vineyard,  I 
will  take  away  the  hedge  thereof,  and  it  shall  be 
eaten  up ;  and  break  down  the  wall  thereof,  and 
it  shall  be  trodden  down ;  I  will  lay  it  waste,  it 
shall  not  be  pruned  nor  digged,  but  there  shall 
come  up  briers  and  thorns ;  I  will  command  the 
clouds  that  they  rain  no  rain  upon  it."  Isa.  v.  6, 7. 
"  Son  of  man,  what  is  the  vine  tree,  more  than 
any  other  tree,  or  a  branch  that  is  among  the 
trees  of  the  forest  ?  Shall  wood  be  taken  thereof 
to  do  any  work  ?  or  will  men  take  a  pin  of  it  to 
hang  any  vessel  thereon  ?  Behold  it  is  cast  into 
the  fire  for  fuel.  Is  it  meet  for  any  work  ?  Be- 
hold, when  it  was  whole,  it  was  meet  for  no 
work."  Ezek.  xv.  2,  3.  "  Israel  is  an  empty  vine, 
he  bringeth  forth  fruit  unto  himself."     Hos.  x.  1. 


INSIPID  RELIGION.  "I  QQ 

"  Because  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will 
spew  thee  out." 

Our  Lord  teaches  us,  in  one  of  his  most  expres- 
sive parables,  the  opinion  which  he  entertains  of 
loiterers.  "He  that  gathereth  not  with  me,  scat- 
tereth  abroad."  Standing  with  their  arms  folded 
in  the  presence  of  his  busy  reapers,  engaged  in 
gathering  and  binding  up  the  sheaves,  they  are 
not  only  in  the  way,  but  are  casting  tacit  reproach 
and  insult  upon  the  whole  transaction.  Is  it  any 
matter  for  wonder,  then,  that  the  Lord  of  the  har- 
vest is  displeased  with  them,  and  that  he  considers 
them  more  offensive  to  him,  than  those  who  stand 
off  without  even  the  show  of  interference  ?  A 
middling  and  ordinary  estimate  of  the  Saviour's 
merits,  a  love  to  him,  in  which  the  cold  predomi- 
nates over  the  hot,  a  service  rendered  indifferent 
by  counterbalancing  inclinations,  are  just  such 
offerings  as  dishonour  him,  by  the  denial  of  his 
divinity.  I  grieve,  I  sink  into  discouragement, 
when  I  think  how  many  orthodox  defamers  are 
drawing  down  reproach  upon  Christ,  through  the 
remissness  of  their  zeal  in  his  cause  ;  how  much 
detraction  his  exalted  character  suffers,  through 
the  weak  vindications  of  lukewarm  friendship, 
and  how  he  is  left  bleeding  and  crucified  in  the 
hands  of  his  enemies,  by  the  dispiritedness  of  his 
followers,         , 


^QQ  INSIPID  RELIGIO^f. 

Those  in  the  state  of  total  impenitence,  make 
no  insolent  boasts  of  being  in  the  divine  favour. 
They  set  up  no  pretensions  to  special  privileges ; 
nor  do  they  ask  to  be  the  accredited  candidates 
for  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  is  true  they  are  in 
a  state  of  condemnation,  and  liable  every  moment 
to  be  turned  into  despair ;  they  are  objects  of  the 
Lord's  displeasure.  But  the  lukewarm,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  guilt  of  their  ungodly  dispositions,  in- 
cur the  farther  charge  of  impious  presumption. 
They  would  make  us  believe,  and  themselves  too, 
that  so  soon  as  they  have  done  with  earth,  they 
will  be  landed  in  heaven.  They  are  not  backward 
to  profess  their  confidence  in  the  promises  of  God, 
and  their  hope  of  a  tranquil,  happy  death.  With 
them,  death  is  destined  to  be  a  mighty  reformer. 
That  stern  and  awful  power  is  to  change  them  in 
a  twinkling  from  their  state  of  sleep  to  a  state  of 
wakefulness,  from  their  ungracious  temper,  to  one 
that  is  gracious,  from  their  love  of  the  world  to 
the  love  of  God,  from  their  dreams  of  spiritual 
happiness  to  the  sudden  realities  of  bliss.  They 
reverse  the  beautiful  truth,  that, 

"  None  but  a  living  faith  unites 
To  Christ,  the  living  Head," 

and  presume,  that  by  a  dead  faith  they  will  at  last 
spring  up  to  the  glories  of  the  first  resurrection. 
Thirdly.  The  glorified  state  of  believers  is  that 


INSIPID  RELIGION.  201 

in  which  every  power  of  the  soul  is  raised  to  the 
utmost  stretch  of  holy  tension.  The  spirits  of  the 
just  are  made  perfect,  their  capacity  of  bliss  is 
filled,  their  devotions  are  animated  with  unabating 
ardour,  their  temple  worship  is  the  perpetual  in- 
cense of  praise.  The  saints  shall  have  spiritual 
bodies  suited  to  their  sublime  employment,  and 
with  the  hosts  about  the  throne  of  God,  shall  not 
cease,  day  or  night,  the  celebration  of  Emmanuel's 
glories.  "The  eyes  shall  see  intellectual  objects, 
and  the  mouth  shall  feed  upon  hymns  and  glorifi- 
cations of  God,  and  the  tongue  shall  speak  nothing 
but  praises,  and  the  propositions  of  celestial  wis- 
dom. The  motion  shall  be  the  swifl;ness  of  an 
angel;  holiness  the  sun,  and  righteousness  the 
moon  of  that  region."*  What  kind  of  figure  do 
you  think  a  lukewarm  soul  would  there  display  ? 
Surely  his  sluggish  motions  would  never  keep 
pace  with  the  burning  velocity  of  those  spirits 
that  shall  minister  for  ever  their  high  homage  to 
the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  They  will  have  risen, 
and  left  the  stars  behind  in  their  flight,  before  he 
can  spread  his  wings.  They  will  have  been  happy 
and  honoured  proficients  in  the  lofl;y  science  of 
immortality,  while  he  is  perplexed  with  unavailing 
efforts  to  gain  its  lowest  rudiments.  Heaven,  my 
brethren,  will  never  suit  a  lukewarm  Christian. 

*  Jeremy  Taylor. 


2Q2  INSIPID  RELIGION. 

The  gracious  state  on  earth,  must  be  propor- 
tionate to  the  glorified  state  in  heaven.  It  must 
have  dimensions  and  a  capacity  corresponding  in 
kind  w^ith  the  more  exalted  dimensions  of  the 
future  life.  On  this  principle  it  is  that  the  hope 
of  heaven  is  used  in  Scripture,  as  an  argument  to 
enforce  diligence  and  perseverance  in  the  perform- 
ance of  good  works.  This  argument  is  urged  in 
sundry  places  :  "Wherefore,  beloved,  seeing  that 
ye  look  for  such  things,  be  diligent,  that  ye  may 
be  found  of  him  without  spot,  and  blameless." 
2  Pet.  iii.  14.  "  Every  man  that  hath  this  hope 
in  him,  purifieth  himself  even  as  he  is  pure." 
1  John  iii.  3.  "  Having,  therefore,  these  promises, 
dearly  beloved,  let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  all 
filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holi- 
ness in  the  fear  of  God."  2  Cor.  vii.  1.  "Whereby 
are  given  to  us  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises,  that  by  these  ye  might  be  parsakers 
of  the  divine  nature.  And,  beside  this,  giving 
all  diligence,  add  to  your  faith  virtue,"  &c.  2 
Pet.  iv.  5. 

The  hope  of  heaven  cannot  be  even  rational, 
without  being  lively  and  operative,  for  it  is  con- 
trary to  all  reason  and  common  sense,  to  imagine 
that  tardiness  in  the  race  should  win  the  prize, 
that  dastardliness  should  gain  the  victory,  that 
sluggishness  and  torpor  should  have  the  rewards 
of  industry  and  skill. 


SERMON    X. 


THE   COMMON  ODIUM, 


Acts  xxviii.  22. — For  as  concerning  ihis  sect,  we  know  that  every 
where  it  is  spoken  against. 


"Why,  I  hear  you  are  going  to  join  the  Bap- 
tists, can  that  be  true  ?  How  can  you  ever  recon- 
cile to  yourself  that  odious  practice  of  close 
communion?  Do  you  not  know  that  if  you 
unite  yourself  with  that  sect,  you  must  never 
expect  to  hold  any  Christian  intercourse  with 
your  dearest  relatives,  how  pious  soever  they  may 
be  ?  Can  you  give  up  sisters  and  brothers,  and 
the  respectable  society  of  other  denominations, 
for  the  sake  of  the  Baptists,  who  are  so  narrow- 
minded  and  bigoted,  as  to  refuse  communion  at 
the  Lord's  table  with  other  Christians?"  The 
person  who  was  addressed  in  the  manner  here 
described,  had  but  recently  become  acquainted 
with  the  ministry  and  worship  of  a  Baptist  church. 
The  Gospel  had  been  there  heard  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  awaken  a  careless  soul,  previously  slum- 


204  THE  COMMON  ODIUM. 

bering  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bonds  of 
iniquity,  and  the  individual  referred  to  was  power- 
fully impressed ;  and  by  the  force  of  immediate 
conviction,  determined  to  break  off  the  vanities 
of  the  world,  and  to  addict  to  the  society  of  that 
people,  a  life  which  had  been  before  spent  in  sin- 
ful negligence  of  God.  That  people,  as  it  seemed 
to  the  soul  in  question,  were  worshipping  God  ac- 
cording to  the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel  plan. 
Their  doctrines  corresponded  with  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  their  prayers,  praises,  and  preaching  were 
alike  impressive ;  and  their  baptism  was  clearly 
that  which  had  the  sanction  of  apostolic  example. 
Our  newly  awakened  friend  could  think  of  being 
happy  in  no  other  church,  and  of  enjoying  the 
Gospel  feast  under  no  other  ministry.  But  the 
tidings  of  such  a  state  of  mind  were  no  sooner 
spread,  than  the  alarming  interrogatories  repeat- 
ed above,  were  pressed  upon  the  unsuspecting 
convert ;  and  the  close  communion  of  the  Bap- 
tists was  made  the  means  of  arresting  a  design 
so  warmly  conceived  and  cherished.  This,  then, 
is  the  head  and  front  of  our  offending.  Whenever 
our  opponents  are  fairly  driven  from  the  field  of 
argument,  and  are  left  without  a  solitary  point  to 
urge  against  us,  they  seize  upon  the  trite  and  ofl- 
repeated  scandal  of  close  communion.  We 
should  like  the  Baptists,  say  they,  but  for  their 
close   communion.     Even   admitting   that    their 


THE  COMMON  ODIUM.  205 

baptism  is  right,  and  that  many  of  their  writers 
and  preachers  have  been  eminent,  yet  we  can 
never  countenance  their  close  communion.  It 
looks  so  much  as  if  they  would  say  to  us.  "Stand 
off — I  am  holier  than  thou."  Every  pastor  of  a 
Baptist  church,  especially  in  cities  where  religious 
scandals  find  a  readier  circulation  than  elsewhere, 
must  have  had  occasion  more  than  once,  or  twice, 
to  bend  down  his  neck  and  shoulders,  and  take  up 
the  grave  reproach  of  close  communion.  If  his 
ministry  has  happened  to  be  blessed  to  any  indi- 
vidual having  Pedobaptist  connexions,  and  some 
movements  like  joining  his  church  may  have  been 
made  by  the  party  thus  newly  conciliated,  the  very 
next  visit  which  he  pays  in  such  a  case,  he  is  as- 
sailed by  this  inquiry,  "  Does  your  church  prac- 
tise close  communion?  Some  of  my  friends  have 
informed  me  that  such  is  the  case,  and  on  account 
of  it,  have  strongly  dissuaded  me  from  uniting  my- 
self to  you.  And,  though  I  approve  of  your  bap- 
tism, yet  as  I  should  not  like  to  be  debarred  from 
communing  with  my  friends  and  relations,  I  have 
concluded  to  postpone  my  religious  profession  for 
the  present."  Our  Pedobaptist  brethren  seem 
to  have  discovered  that  no  argument  could  be 
wielded  more  dexterously  and  plausibly  against 
Ds,  than  this  obsolete  phantom  of  close  com- 
m^union,  and  they  have  amply  availed  themselves 
of  it  to  prevent  the  excessive  growth  of  our  deno- 

18 


2()g  THE  COMMON  ODIUM. 

mination,  and  to  promote  the  extension  of  their 
own.  Perhaps  it  is  a  kind  order  of  Providence 
to  leave  this  reproach  upon  us,  to  humble  and  to 
try  us,  lest  we  should  be  exalted  above  measure 
by  the  rapid  accessions  of  strength  to  our  body. 

But,  after  all,  is  our  close  communion  an  offence 
of  such  magnitude  against  the  charity  and  decorum 
of  social  worship?  The  members  of  every  social 
compact,  have  a  perfect  and  undoubted  right  to 
dictate  the  terms  of  membership.  Whatever, 
therefore,  may  be  said  of  the  equity,  or  expediency, 
or  consistency,  or  Christian  spirit  of  close  commu- 
nion, no  one  can  for  a  moment  doubt  the  right  of 
the  party  holding  it,  to  maintain  the  position. 
Still  we  allow  that  men  may  greatly  err  in  the 
maintenance  of  their  rights.  They  may  assert 
them  in  a  temper,  and  urge  them  to  an  extreme 
which  shall  be  very  prejudicial  to  the  happiness 
and  interest  of  others.  But  can  this  be  said  of 
the  RIGHT  in  question  ?  What  injustice  do  others 
suffer  in  consequence  of  our  close  communion  ? 
Of  what  privileges  are  they  deprived?  If  they  do 
suffer  injustice,  and  are  restricted  in  their  privi- 
leges, by  the  course  which  we  pursue,  then  if  we 
should  pursue  an  opposite  course,  they  would  be 
no  longer  sufferers.  That  is,  if  close  communion 
wrongs  them,  open  communion  would  obviate  the 
wrong.  But  what  is  the  import  of  close  commu- 
nion?    Without  attempting  to  express  its  entire 


THE  COMMON  ODIUM.  OQiy 

design,  we  may  speak  of  one  thing  of  which  it  is 
significant.  It  is  a  tacit,  but  not  unmeaning  re- 
buke of  Infant  Baptism.  How  much  soever  we 
may  respect  and  love  the  thousands  of  God's  dear 
people  who  live  in  this  practice,  we  must  not,  on 
account  of  our  affection  for  them,  cease  to  tell 
them  the  truth.  When,  therefore,  we  erect  a 
bar  round  the  communion  table,  we  say  no  more 
to  them  than  this : — Brethren,  though  you  are 
dear  to  us,  yet  truth  is  dearer.  We  sanction  your 
error  by  admitting  you  to  this  table.  If  this  were 
our  own  table  you  should  be  welcomed  to  it.  But 
it  is  the  Lord^s  table ^  and  we  have  no  right  to 
make  it  accessible  to  those  who,  according  to  our 
deep  and  solemn  conviction,  are  practising  for  re- 
ligion what  the  Lord  has  not  instituted.  Your 
custom  of  adopting,  in  some  manner^  the  infants 
of  believers  into  the  church,  by  applying  to  them 
what  you  term  baptism,  is  founded,  in  our  view, 
upon  the  commandments  of  men,  and  not  upon 
the  authority  of  Christ.  If  you  think  us  hard  and 
uncompromising,  in  setting  up  a  bar  against  you 
for  such  a  cause  as  this,  permit  us  to  inquire  of 
you,  Whether  it  may  not  be  easier  for  you  to  re- 
linquish a  custom  which  Christ  has  not  command- 
ed, and  thus  meet  us  upon  the  ground  of  Scripture, 
than  for  us  virtually  to  surrender  a  custom  which 
he  has  commanded,  in  order  to  meet  you  upon  the 
ground  of  human  tradition?    Thus  it  is  that  close 


2Qg  THE  COMMON  ODIUM. 

communion  speaks.  This  is  its  fair  and  obvious 
import.  It  is  then  the  medium  of  salutary  coun- 
sel and  reproof.  It  offers  to  all  who  have  occa- 
sion to  meet  it  wholesome  advice,  and  pleads  for 
the  purity  and  integrity  of  the  Gospel.  On  the 
other  hand,  open  communion  proposes  an  insincere 
and  insidious  compromise.  It  covers  over  error 
with  the  blandishment  of  soft  words,  and  leaves 
it  as  deeply  rooted  and  luxuriant  as  ever.  Which 
of  these  two,  then,  should  be  regarded  as  the  more 
conducive  to  the  real  benefit  of  our  fellow  Chris- 
tians— the  former  which  reproves  and  expostulates 
openly,  sternly,  and  even  roughly,  if  you  please ; — 
or  the  latter  which  meets  you  with  smiles  and 
flatteries,  and  shows  no  solicitude  to  have  you 
tried  by  the  test  of  Truth?  Surely,  our  very 
opponents  can  have  no  difficulty  in  deciding  this 
question. 

That  which  has  rendered  the  close  communion 
of  Baptists  most  offensive,  is  its  alleged  tendency  to 
unchristian  all  other  denominations.  By  denying 
communion  in  the  visible  tokens  with  our  fellow- 
Christians,  it  is  thought  we  deny  the  genuineness 
of  their  religion,  and  thus  class  them  with  the  un- 
believing and  the  ungodly.  If,  say  they,  you  con- 
sider us  Christians,  why  not  allow  us  to  partake 
with  you  the  privileges  of  the  Lord's  house  ?  If 
Christ  has  received  us,  why  should  not  you  receive 
us  also?     Are  we  not  as  dear  to  him  as  you  are, 


THE  COMMON   ODIUM.  OQQ 

as  devoted  to  his  cause,  as  ready  to  make  sacri- 
fices in  his  service;  and  every  way  as  zealous, 
orthodox,  and  exemplary  as  you  are  ?  Nay,  do  we 
not  far  surpass  you  in  the  abundance  of  our  la- 
bours and  successes  in  the  work  of  our  Divine 
Master  ?  And  still  we  are  not  permitted  to  com- 
mune with  you !  We  must  allow,  that  in  declin- 
ing to  commune  with  other  Christians,  we  tacitly 
find  fault  with  them.  Our  refusal  to  eat  with  them 
the  sacramental  bread,  is  at  least  a  qualified  cen- 
sure. But  can  any  one  say  that  this  is  tantamount 
to  a  denial  of  their  claims  to  the  Christian  cha- 
racter ?  May  we  not  point  out  and  reprove  omis- 
sions, without  harshly  judging  those  who  are 
chargeable  with  them  ?  Would  not  our  brethren 
of  other  persuasions,  who  think  it  hard  to  be  de- 
barred from  our  tables,  be  very  unwilling  to  admit 
to  theirs  those  whom  they  might  regard  as  holding 
any  prominent  error?  Although  in  solitary  in- 
stances they  might  tolerate  the  approach  to  the 
communion,  of  all  persons  who  should  deem  them- 
selves qualified,  and  might  thus  admit  believers  in 
Transubstantiation,  Universalists,  and  others,  yet 
surely  they  would  be  far  from  establishing  it  as  a 
rule,  that  persons  affected  with  such  errors  as  are 
presumed  to  exist  in  the  classes  above  named, 
might,  nevertheless,  commune  freely  and  habi- 
tually with  them.  Here,  however,  we  may  be 
asked,  "Do  you  place  your  Pedobaptist  brethren 

18* 


2JQ  THE  COMMON  ODIUM. 

on  the  same  footing  with  behevers  in  Transubstan- 
tiation,  with  Universahsts,  and  with  those  who 
wholly  reject  the  ordinances  of  the  Gospel  ?"  An- 
swer. We  allow  not  ourselves  to  classify  them 
with  a  view  to  any  invidious  comparisons.  To 
do  so,  would  be  more  hurtful  to  us  than  to  them ; 
because  the  general  excellence  and  piety  of  Pres- 
byterians, Episcopalians  and  Methodists,  are  uni- 
versally known  and  admitted.  We  regard  them 
as  the  friends  of  God,  as  the  salt  of  the  earth, 
and  as  candidates  for  the  mansions  prepared  by 
Christ  for  those  who  love  him.  Their  divine 
Master  knows  how  to  deal  with  them  for  their 
errors  and  imperfections.  If  they  be  found  in 
Christ  by  a  living  faith,  they  will  be  saved,  though 
they  may  not  gain  much  credit  in  the  end  for  their 
industry  and  zeal  in  propagating  Infant  Baptism. 
He  has  a  way  for  the  final  acquittal  and  justifica- 
tion of  all  who  believe.  He  has  also  a  way  for 
their  present  justification  before  men;  and  that  is, 
for  those  who  would  follow  him,  to  adopt  and 
practise  his  religion  just  as  he  has  left  it  to  them. 
A  Gospel  church  is  made  up  of  baptized  be- 
lievers; and  such  a  body  only  is  qualified  to  com- 
mune at  the  Lord's  Table.  If  the  denominations 
above-named  are  baptized  believers,  then  they  are 
not  only  qualified  to  commune  together,  but  to 
commune  with  us  ;  and  to  prohibit  them  from  such 
a  privilege  would  be  sinful  in  us.     But,  if  in  our 


THE  COMMON  ODIUM.  Oil 

most  serious  and  unwavering  judgment,  we  are 
compelled  to  regard  them  as  yet  unbaptized,  we 
should  surely  offend  against  the  Institution  of  the 
Saviour,  by  communing  with  them.  And  though 
He  may  know  how  to  commune  with  them,  he 
has  not  yet  informed  us  how  we  may  do  it.  We 
anticipate  what  will  here  be  said,  Then  surely 
you  make  a  great  matter  of  baptism?  But, 
Pedobaptist  brethren,  do  we  make  more  of  it  than 
you  ?  In  your  church  constitutions,  do  you  ever 
dispense  with  it  ?  Do  you  ever  formally  and  so- 
lemnly receive  and  recognise  a  member  who  is 
known  not  only  never  to  have  submitted  to  it,  but 
to  deny  its  binding  validity  upon  believers  ?  Why 
do  you  make  so  much  of  it,  as  to  require  of  all 
your  members  to  have  their  children  brought  sea- 
sonably to  it  ?  If  you  relax  this  requirement  in 
some  cases,  you  do  so,'  in  violation  of  your  own 
rules.  True,  it  may  be  said,  that  the  importance 
which  you  attach  to  your  views  of  this  ordinance, 
is  not  a  reason  perfectly  sufficient  to,  justify  us  in 
attaching  a  similar  importance  to  it.  This  is 
granted.  But  it  is  a  reason  sufficient  for  our  pre- 
sent purpose ;  inasmuch  as  you  can  hardly  con- 
demn in  us,  what  you  furnish  an  exam,ple  of  in 
yourselves.  And  whether  we  be  right  or  wrong 
in  making  much  of  Baptism,  we  have  you  in  our 
company.  We  keep  company,  however,  no  farther 
than  to  this  single  point,  namely,  that  both  parties 
of  us  are  fully  and  perfectly  agreed  that  baptism 


222  '^^^  COMMON  ODIUM. 

is  indispensable.  When  we  come  to  th^  question, 
What  is  baptism?  we  separate,  and  the  whole 
controversy  about  close  communion,  originates  in 
this  separation.  Both  as  to  mode  and  subject, 
you  leave  us :  and  because  we  cannot  follow  you, 
you  turn  upon  us  a  reproachful  eye,  conceiving  as 
you  probably  do,  that  we  have  first  reproached 
you  in  not  running  after  you  into  the  sandy  desert 
of  traditionary  rites.  In  refusing  to  go  after  you, 
and  in  standing  by  the  law  and  the  testimony, 
we  only  say  that  we  love  Christ  more  than  we 
love  you. 

When  we  say  that  unbaptized  persons  may 
not  commune  at  the  Lord's  table,  we  speak  the 
language  of  one  of  the  most  judicious  and  eminent 
men  that  ever  adorned  the  Christian  profession. 
We  refer  to  Dr.  Doddridge.  In  his  Lectures  on 
Divinity,  we  find  the  following  clear  and  unequi- 
vocal testimony  on  this  very  subject.  These  are 
his  words — "  It  is  certain  that  Christians,  in  gene- 
ral, have  always  been  spoken  of,  by  the  most  an- 
cient Fathers,  as  baptized  persons  ;  and  it  is  also 
certain,  that  as  far  as  our  knowledge  of  primitive 
antiquity  reaches,  no  unbaptized  person  received 
the  Lord's  Supper."  Thus  far  speaks  Doddridge. 
It  may  be  inquired,  did  not  the  Doctor  himself 
commune,  and  was  he  a  baptized  person  ?  In 
his  oicn  view,  he  no  doubt  was ;  but  was  he  a  bap- 
tized person,  in  our  view  ?     If  we  regard  Pedo- 


THE  COMMON  ODIUM.  213 

baptism  as  no  baptism,  as  a  mere  nullity,  which 
we  certainly  do,  then  those  who  have  had  no  other 
baptism,  have  in  effect  had  none ;  and  are  there- 
fore disqualified  for  communion  at  the  Lord's  ta- 
ble, by  the  explicit  rule  of  Doddridge. 

The  word  of  God,  we  conceive,  is  full  and  satis- 
factory to  this  point.  From  that  we  gather  the 
following  undeniable  fact — viz.  l^hat  the  first 
visible  act  of  homage  which  believers  paid  to 
Christy  was  baptism.  Let  the  following  texts 
suffice  to  prove  this.  Acts  viii.  36 — 38 — "  And 
as  they  went  on  their  way,  they  came  unto  a  cer- 
tain water;  and  the  eunuch  said.  See,  here  is 
water ;  what  doth  hinder  me  to  be  baptized  ?  And 
Philip  said.  If  thou  believest  with  all  thine  heart, 
thou  mayest.  And  he  answered  and  said,  I  be- 
lieve that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God.  And 
he  commanded  the  chariot  to  stand  still ;  and  they 
went  down  both  into  the  water,  both  Philip  and 
the  eunuch  ;  and  he  baptized  him."  The  perse- 
cutor Saul,  afterward  the  apostle  Paul,  was  con- 
verted on  his  way  to  Damascus :  he  was  informed 
that  Ananias  would  tell  him,  what  he  should  do. 
And  Ananias  said,  "  And  now  why  tarriest  thou  ? 
arise  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins, 
calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord."  "  And  imme- 
diately there  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it  had  been 
scales ;  and  he  received  sight  forthwith,  and  arose, 
and  was  baptized."     In  the  city  of  Philippi,  the 


214  '^"^  COMMON  ODIUM. 

jailor,  brought  to  repentance,  says  to  Paul  and 
Silas,  "  Sirs,  what  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  They 
reply,  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved,  and  thy  house.  And  he  took 
them  the  same  hour  of  the  night,  and  washed  their 
stripes  and  was  baptized,  he  and  all  his,  straight- 
way," Acts  xvi.  30 — 33.  Paul  preached  in  the 
city  of  Corinth,  "  and  many  of  the  Corinthians 
hearing,  believed,  and  were  baptized."  Acts  xviii. 
8.  Peter  preached  Jesus,  "  Him  who  is  Lord  of 
all,"  to  Cornelius  and  his  friends  at  Cesarea ;  and 
said,  "  Can  any  man  forbid  water,  that  these 
should  not  be  baptized,  who  have  received  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we  ?  And  he  commanded 
them  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
Acts  X.  46—48. 

Were  it  not  for  our  anti-Pedohaptism,  we 
should  have  no  justifiable  reason  for  assuming  the 
character  of  a  distinct  and  separate  denomina- 
tion. This  peculiarity  in  our  body  is  considered 
worthy  of  protection  by  a  regular  sectarian  en- 
closure. Abolish  it,  and  the  fence  may  as  well  be 
taken  down.  For  the  church  government  of  the 
Congregationalists  will  answer  for  us,  and  their 
doctrine  and  discipline  are  nearly  similar  to  our 
own.  They  are  wilHng,  too,  to  practise  immersion 
if  occasion  require.  If  anti-Pedohaptism  then 
be  abolished,  we  could  have  no  sufficient  reason 
for  perpetuating  any  sort  of  sectarian  distinction. 


THE  COMMON  ODIUM.  Ol  ^ 

And  if  we  can  find  reason  to  relax  our  opposition 
to  Infant  Baptism,  then  may  we  view  with  less 
concern,  those  minglings  and  amalgamations 
which  have  a  tendency  to  destroy  our  distinctive 
features  as  a  denomination.  But  are  we  prepared 
to  modify  our  dislike  to  the  rite  in  question?  Do 
we  not  honestly  and  boldly  assert  that  the  exist- 
ence of  Infant  Baptism  is  a  sore  evil  ?  Do  we  not 
regard  the  good  men  who  hold  and  practise  it,  as 
good,  in  spite  of  this  evil  ?  While  we  love  them 
in  all  their  excellencies,  do  we  not  feel  ourselves 
sacredly  bound  by  all  considerations  of  the  love  of 
truth,  and  the  cause  of  Christ,  to  oppose,  disclaim, 
refute  and  deprecate  their  infant  baptism  ?  And 
are  we  to  be  blamed  for  wishing  to  keep  the 
church  of  Christ  clear  of  such  a  rite  ?  On  the 
other  hand,  our  Pedobaptist  brethren  feel  them- 
selves bound  to  do  all  they  can  to  maintain,  assert, 
and  perpetuate  infant  baptism.  They  view  it  as 
the  very  pillar  of  the  church ;  and  must  feel 
greatly  tempted  to  resent  the  obstinacy  with 
which  we  continue  to  oppose  and  question  it. 
They  are  well  aware,  also,  that  open  communion 
would  greatly  conduce  to  the  mitigation  of  our 
dislike  to  this  thing ;  that  after  freely  interchang- 
ing the  symbols  of  church-fellowship  with  them, 
it  would  come  with  an  ill  grace  from  us  to  find 
fault  with  a  rite  which  they  consider  as  lying  at 
the  very  foundation  of  their  church-polity.  Indeed 


216 


THE  COMMON  ODIUM. 


it  would  hardly  comport  with  the  civiHties  of  good 
neighbourship,  to  renew  the  old  dispute  about  a 
ceremony,  after  the  parties  had  met  and  broken 
together  the  bread  of  amalgamation.  But  it  may 
be  said  to  us,  Would  you  not  be  willing  for  such  a 
dispute  to  die?  Can  you  find  it  in  your  heart  to 
keep  alive  controversy  on  a  matter  of  mere 
form  ?  Would  it  not  be  better  for  all  parties,  and 
more  agreeable  to  Christian  liberality,  to  let  it  be 
dead  and  buried,  than  to  prolong  its  existence  for 
the  sake  of  separating  friends  and  brethren?  We 
could  wish,  indeed,  that  all  the  party  spirit  and 
bad  feeling,  and  all  the  asperity  of  temper  with 
which  the  dispute  has  been  conducted,  were  dead 
and  buried,  and  were  never  to  be  revived.  But 
we  cannot  consent  to  the  extinction  of  dispassion- 
ate, Christian-like  controversy  in  defence  of  truth, 
and  in  refutation  of  error.  We  regard  it  as  a 
sacred  duty  to  "  contend  for  the  faith  once  deliver- 
ed to  the  saints;"  and  the  rites  of  the  church  of 
Christ  are  considered  a  part  of  the  faith.  On  this 
account  we  cannot  cease  to  controvert  every  thing 
which  appears  to  us  an  innovation  upon  apostolic 


usage. 


But  we  are  here  asked  whether  open  commu- 
nion could,  in  any  wise,  deprive  us  of  the  advan- 
tage which  we  hold  in  this  controversy.  To  this 
we  reply  in  the  affirmative.  We  should  hardly 
dare  to  name  our  scruples  about  baptism,  if  it  be 


THE  COMMON  ODIUM.  217 

no  longer  considered  a  term  of  communion.  Let 
it  be  understood  that  Christians  may  commune 
without  it,  and  its  claims  to  observation  are  at 
once  weakened.  For  if  it  may  be  passed  over 
by  those  seeking  the  Lord's  table,  it  may  be 
omitted  from  the  prerequisites  to  church-mem- 
bership, and  by  parity,  laid  aside  wholly  from  the 
duties  of  the  Christian  life  and  profession.  And 
such  a  result  should  surely  be  dreaded. 

We  cannot  see,  as  some  profess  to  see,  that 
water  baptism  is  a  matter  of  such  little  moment. 
Faith  in  Christ  confers  upon  it  a  high  and  holy 
import.  Under  the  guidance  of  such  a  principle, 
it  assumes  a  character  most  divine  and  sacred. 
It  is  not  the  empty  washing  of  the  body,  but  the 
answer  of  a  good  conscience ;  not  the  dead  letter 
of  a  command,  but  the  vivifying  spirit  of  grace 
and  righteousness;  not  the  idle  pomp  of  an  un- 
meaning ceremony,  but  the  blessed  memorial  of 
Him  who  has  become  our  pattern  and  our  hope. 


19 


SERMON   XI. 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR. 


Ps,  Ixv.  11. — Who  crownest  the  year  with  thy  goodness. 

It  is  not  strange  that  the  slumbering  energies 
of  thought  and  meditation  should  be  frequently 
roused  by  the  events  and  changes  which  we  meet 
in  passing  through  life.  It  would  seem  unaccount- 
able, if  not  astonishing,  were  we  to  remain  the 
unmoved,  and  unimpressed  spectators  of  incidents 
and  occurrences  which  admonish  us  that  our  tem- 
poral duration  is  wasting,  not  by  little  parts  and 
fractions,  but  by  large  deductions  from  its  whole 
amount.     The  expiration  of  hours  and  days  may 
be  witnessed  with  little  emotion.     Their  extinc- 
tion forms  an  obituary  notice  over  which  the  eye 
may  glance  cursorily,  without  affecting  the  heart. 
But  the  transit  of  a  whole  year  is  like  the  fall  of 
the  mighty,  which  awakens  the  solemn  feelings  of 
a  thousand  hearts.   Its  lapse  is  irrecoverable.    Its 
life,  and  form,   and  song,  and  mirth,    its  whole 
scene  of  joy  and  grief,  its  whole  expanse  of  light 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR.  OlQ 

and  darkness,  have  gone  from  us  like  the  winged 
dream.  And  Time,  the  uncompromising  sum- 
moner,  sounds  in  our  ears  his  dreaded  citation,  to 
proceed  toward  the  final  consummation  of  our 
character.  We  begin  with  trembling  the  con- 
sumption of  another  year,  knowing  that  like  the 
past,  it  will  soon  glide  off,  or  that  we,  already  the 
anticipated  victims  of  inexorable  death,  whose 
shafts  are  turned  with  unerring  aim  upon  our  vi- 
tals, shall  cease  to  be  recognised  by  the  places 
and  persons  that  now  possess  some  memorial  of 
us.  My  whole  soul  is  startled  into  agitation  and 
concern  at  changes  and  circumstances  so  event- 
ful. 

The  term  of  one  year  may  be  regarded  not  only 
in  the  light  of  a  grand  natural  cycle,  but  also  as  a 
moral  one. 

The  earth  has  completed  one  revolution  in  its 
orbit,  thus  having  traversed  again  its  astronomical 
path,  and  performed  another  journey  of  its  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  miles,  responsive  to  the  call  of 
sister  planets,  and  obedient  to  the  mandate  of  the 
great  Maker.  Passing  from  tropic  to  tropic,  and 
from  equinox  to  equinox,  it  has  felt  and  exhibited 
all  the  seasons  in  their  turn,  all  the  changeful  dis- 
positions incident  to  its  varying  relations  to  other 
heavenly  bodies,  and  has  thus  proved  itself  a  faith- 
ful member  of  the  great  solar  system.  Meanwhile 
the  gentleness  of  Spring  has  visited  it;    and  a 


220  FO^  A  NEW  YEAR. 

grateful  temperature  of  vivifying  elements  has  re- 
called entombed  nature  from  its  periodical  repose, 
and  teeming  life  has  resumed  its  cheering  reign. 
Its  successor,  with  an  ardour  and  influences  more 
intense,  has  once  more  confirmed  all  the  weak  and 
timid  off*spring  of  the  earlier  Season,  has  deve- 
loped and  matured  the  imperfect  forms  of  plants, 
and  brought  to  man's  enjoyment  the  precious  fruits 
of  the  earth.  The  sober  season  of  Autumn,  suited 
to  the  contemplative  and  the  serious,  completing 
the  unfinished  work  of  Summer,  and  supplying  all 
the  provisions  requisite  to  the  necessities  and  de- 
lights of  man  and  beast,  and  preparing  nature  for 
another  slumber  in  a  wintry  grave,  has  gone  by  us. 
The  dark  atmosphere,  naked  trees,  piercing  winds, 
vapourish  congelations,  and  fields  of  ice  spread 
out  where  lately  lay  the  tranquil  lake  or  running 
stream ;  all  remind  us,  that  this  is  Winter,  that 
the  year,  the  whole  year  has  passed,  and  that  we 
are  already  beginning  to  count  out  and  expend 
another  check  upon  our  little  remaining  treasure. 
Such  a  duration  as  that  of  the  year  contains  its 
rich,  though  ordinary  display  of  natural  pheno- 
mena. The  astronomer  has  found  the  lucid  veri- 
fication of  all  that  his  previous  science  had  anti- 
cipated in  the  motions,  conjunctions,  transits,  and 
eclipses  of  celestial  spheres ;  the  philosopher  has 
received  an  additional  demonstration  of  the  effi- 
ciency and  immutability  of  nature's  laws;  and  the 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR.  221 

naturalist  has  found,  amid  all  the  varieties  of 
beings  and  objects  animate  and  inanimate,  fresh 
sources  of  gratification  and  instruction.  To  him 
the  constant  alternations  of  growth  and  decay,  of 
composition  and  decomposition,  of  life  and  death, 
constitute  that  beautiful  perfection  in  the  works 
of  the  almighty  Creator,  in  which 

Organic  forms  with  chymic  chariges  strive, 
Live  but  to  die,  and  die  but  to  revive. 

The  Christian  too  has  had  space  for  observa- 
tion and  the  consequent  increase  of  wisdom  and 
purity.  All  the  lessons  of  instructive  analogy  have 
been  read  aloud  to  him  once  more  ;  the  promises 
of  God  have  been  fulfilled ;  there  has  appeared 
hope  of  a  tree,  if  it  be  cut  down,  that  it  will  sprout 
again ;  and  though  the  root  thereof  wax  old  in  the 
earth,  and  the  stock  thereof  die  in  the  ground,  yet 
through  the  scent  of  water,  it  will  bud,  and  bring 
forth  boughs  like  a  plant ;  but,  that  man  dieth  and 
wasteth  away,  he  giveth  up  the  ghost,  he  lieth 
down  and  riseth  not.  Till  the  heavens  be  no  more, 
he  shall  not  awake,  nor  be  raised  out  of  sleep. 

In  an  interval  so  ample,  all  that  is  bad  and  mis- 
chievous in  human  passions,  has  had  time  to  ripen 
into  action  and  developement. 

Pride  has  had  its  little  season  of  strut  and  os- 
tentation. Climbing  up  to  some  eminence  to  be 
seen  of  men,  or  walking  abroad  in  the  measured 

19* 


222 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR. 


step  of  the  scornful,  or  arraying  itself  in  the  deco- 
rations of  fashion,  or  assuming  the  supercilious 
airs  of  greatness,  it  has  enjoyed  its  fancied  tri- 
umph ;  has  wasted  the  resources,  and  consumed 
the  time,  and  expended  the  thousands  which  its 
votaries  could  command,  in  the  vain  attempt  to 
set  off  a  worm  to  advantage.     It  must  be  short- 
lived.    One  year  should  be  enough  to  disabuse  its 
deluded  victims.     In  that  period  how  many  forms 
of  this  inflated  clay  are  hurled  down  from  their 
ephemeral  stations  ?     How  many  are  made  to  feel 
the  sad  pressure   of  temporal   reverses?      How 
many  seized  with  disease,  and  enfeebled  by  wast- 
ing sickness,  are  now  spending  their  nights  in  sor- 
row and  their  days  without  hope?     Pride   and 
man  are  natural  contradictions.     Their  union  is 
an  absurdity  too  monstrous  to  be   endured.     O 
proud  dust,  look  at  the  vapour  and  learn  a  lesson. 
See  the  withered  grass  and  faded  flower,  the  feeble 
emblems  of  thy  frailty,  and  correct  thy  folly.  Look 
down  into  the  damp  cold  grave,  where  mingled 
clay  and  corruption  wait  for  thee,  and  cease  for- 
ever thy  imaginations. 

The  exorbitant  grasp  of  avarice,  has  had 
opportunity  to  reach  new  acquisitions  of  earthly 
substance.  Whilst  its  vigilance  kept  watch  over 
its  treasured  vanities,  its  thirst  for  more,  has  sti- 
mulated the  care-worn  and  earth-corroded  spirit 
to  unceasing  effort  for  the  augmentation  of  the 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR.  223 

mass  previously  secured.     The  idol  of  the  heart 
has  at  no  moment  intermitted  its  controlling  in- 
fluence.    That  idol  held  possession  of  the  whole 
man.     The  soul  was  its  temple,  and  avarice  the 
divinity  to  which  that  temple  was  dedicated.     At 
no  moment  did  the  divinity  leave  its  temple,  nor 
permit   its  enslaved   worshipper  to  suspend    his 
homage,  nor  to  look  up  toward  the  habitation  of 
liberty,  nor  even  to  breathe  an  aspiration  after 
another  object.     Devoted  to  the  sordid  god  of 
this  world,  stooping  down  into  baseness,  and  fall- 
ing into  infamous  prostration,  it  has  not  permitted 
the  sincerity  of  its  criminal  idolatry  to  be  once 
called  into  question.     At  the  same  time  death  has 
been  treading  down  still  lower  such  earth-born 
slaves.     Their    blackened    hands,  paralysed    by 
mortal  weakness,  have  dropped  the  ill-got  booty ; 
their  shattered  frames,  worn  out  and  exhausted  in 
iron  drudgery,  have  sunk  into  the  cold  apathy  of 
dissolution.     Of  all  the  things  that  harden  human 
hearts  against  God,  that  vilify  their  attributes,  that 
annihilate  the  last  remains  of  honourable  feeling, 
that    render    salvation    hopeless,    and   guaranty 
eternal  perdition,  I  know  none  of  such  potency  in 
operation,  of  such  certainty  in  effect,  as  malignant 
avarice. 

Ambition,  too,  has  had  time  to  mark  out  and 
compass  its  objects.  Its  restlessness,  its  versa- 
tility, its  cold   selfishness,  its  open  rush  toward 


224  ^^^  ^  ^^^  YEAR. 

place  and  power,  and  its  secret  plans  of  circum- 
vention, have  all  had  scope  for  exertion.  At  one 
time,  retired  from  public  observation,  it  has  pri- 
vately occupied  itself  in  plotting  the  downfal  of  a 
rival,  or  in  maturing  some  plan  of  advancement. 
As  this  passion  usually  connects  itself  with  great 
minds  and  lofty  feelings,  the  claim  to  sublimity 
cannot  be  denied  it.  But  it  is  the  sublimity  of 
hell,  and  not  of  heaven ;  the  sublimity  of  elemental 
rage,  and  not  that  of  serene  grandeur.  It  is  the 
sublimity  of  war  and  carnage,  and  not  that  of  the 
pacific  glories  of  useful  arts.  Nothing  short  of 
the  disturbance  of  the  ancient  order  of  things, 
and  the  subversion  of  well-settled  institutions,  can 
satisfy  its  demands.  If  our  happy  country  ever 
bleeds  by  self-inflicted  wounds,  ambition  will  drive 
the  dagger.  Should  this  great  republic  of  bro- 
thers ever  feel  the  convulsive  throb  of  discord, 
and  fall  distained  in  its  own  gore,  it  will  be 
through  the  workings  of  this  baleful  passion.  It 
will  then  have  accomplished  the  ruin  of  the 
noblest  superstructure  ever  raised  on  earth ;  will 
have  effected  the  frustration  of  the  fairest  hopes 
that  Heaven  ever  vouchsafed  his  creature  man. 
Of  all  the  blessings  conferred  upon  the  human 
race,  that  only  of  Redemption  excepted,  the  con- 
stitutional union  of  these  States  is  the  greatest. 
Perish  then  ambition ! 

Open  and  daring  wickedness,  as  also  the  clan- 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR. 


225 


destine  contrivances  of  crime,  have  been  advan- 
cing with  no  ordinary  speed.     Opposed  to  these, 
indeed,  have  been  the  combinations  and  prayers 
of  good  men.     The  Bible  has  been  sent  forth,  as 
heretofore,  to  throw  hght  upon  the  darkness  of 
corrupt   minds    and    profligate    practices.     The 
long-suffering  of  God,  which  once  waited  in  the 
days  of  Noah  while  the  ark  was  preparing,  has 
extended   indulgence   to   guilty  men,  whilst  the 
Spirit  of  compassion  has  sustained  the  litigation  in 
human  hearts  against  human  depravity.    Warn- 
ings and  exhortations  have  been  sounded  in  the 
ears,  and  recorded  before  the  eyes  of  impetuous 
offenders.     Barriers  have  been  set  up  to  interrupt 
the  course  of  profaneness,  intemperance,  sabbath- 
breaking,  and  all  other  abominations.     But,  alas! 
the  tide  of  vice  has  continued  to  roll  on,  and 
though  forced  to  recede  at  some  points,  has  ob- 
viously gained  at  others,  until  the  very  genius  of 
benevolence    has    paused   with   discouragement. 
One   year's  history  of  crime  known  and  read, 
defined  by  an  accurate  inventory,  and  summed  up 
in  all  the  blackness  of  aggregation,  would  start 
into   painful   emotion   all   the   secret   springs    of 
amazed  humanity ;  would  fix  our  souls  in  horrified 
expectation   of   God's   avenging   justice ;    would 
prompt  the  inquiry  how  it  is  that  a  sin-hating 
God  can  so  long  endure  the  blasphemers  of  his 
name,  the  insulters  of  his  majesty,  the  despisers 


OOfi  FOR  A  NEW  YEAR. 

of  his  goodness  and  forbearance,  the  instigators 
and  authors  of  apostacy  and  rebelUon  foul  as  that 
engendered  in  hell.  But  mercy  crowns  the  year, 
and  justice  delays  its  inflictions  until  the  measure 
of  iniquity  shall  have  been  filled  up. 

Within  an  interval  so  extended  as  that  to  which 
memory  now  recurs,  it  is  animating  to  believe  that 
a  class  of  moral  elements,  the  very  opposite  to 
those  just  enumerated,  has  been  in  full  and  vigor- 
ous operation.  God  has  not  left  himself  without 
witness  amid  the  scenes  of  degeneracy  and  guilt 
which  have  attested,  as  heretofore,  the  shame  of  a 
world  lying  in  that  Wicked  One.  But  whilst  ini- 
quity is  often  bold  and  insolent,  clamorous  and 
presuming,  piety  is  reserved  and  unpretending, 
and  achieves  its  brightest  conquests  in  compara- 
tive concealment.  A  great  and  strong  wind  may 
be  abroad,  but  the  Lord  is  not  in  the  wind ;  an 
earthquake  may  shake  the  nations,  but  the  Lord 
is  not  in  the  earthquake ;  after  the  earthquake 
may  come  the  fire,  but  the  Lord  is  not  in  the  fire. 
He  is  in  the  still  small  voice.  The  conquest 
which  religion  gains  over  public  opinion,  over  the 
opulence  of  the  wealthy,  over  the  talents  and  re- 
sources of  the  great  and  influential,  how  desirable 
soever  on  many  accounts,  must  not  be  taken  as 
the  standard  of  its  true  glory.  The  work  which 
most  praises  it,  is  that  secret  and  retired  opera- 
tion  by  which   the  obstinate   heart   is  made   to 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR.  297 

yield  to  the  demands  of  truth.  Like  its  divine 
Master,  it  cometh  not  with  observation.  Silently 
it  enters  the  heart,  and  there  prepares  its  throne. 
It  goes  with  the  man  into  his  retirements,  ac- 
companies him  in  his  pubUc  walks,  deepens  the 
awful  tones  of  providential  admonition,  whispers 
good  counsels  to  his  heart,  and  carries  on  the 
work  of  conquest. 

In  such  a  term  piety  likewise  must  have  had  its 
vicissitudes.     Its  tone  must  have  been  depressed 
or  elevated,  sad,  or  cheerful,  according  to  the 
varying  circumstances  whose  influence  would  be 
felt.    For  piety  is  the  soul's  intercourse  with  God. 
It  is  that  ardour  of  genuine  religion  by  which  life 
and  motion  are  imparted  to  it,  by  which  are  se- 
cured  the  stated  and  punctual  performance  of 
duty,  and  the  growth  of  all  the  unadulterated  vir- 
tues.   The  entire  spirit  is  pervaded  by  its  divine 
unction,  and  formed  to  the  peculiar  tempers  and 
habits  of  divine  life.   Sweetness  of  affection,  reali- 
sation of  faith,  confidence  of  hope,  and  the  as- 
piring aims  of  perseverance,  are  some  of  its  inse- 
parable attendants.  Joy  in  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  is  among  its  exalted  fruits.    For  the 
soul  where  its  seat  is,  can  reconcile  the  interests 
of  time  with  those  of  eternity,  and  make  this  life 
auxiliary  to  the  next.     While  it  stoops  to  the 
thoughts  and  arrangements  necessary  to  the  pro- 
secution of  secular  interests,  its  eye  is  still  lifted 


228  FOR  A  NEW  YEAR, 

up  to  heaven;  whilst  the  corporeal  nature  lies 
cradled  in  the  clod,  the  ethereal  part  is  crowned 
with  the  sunbeam ;  whilst  the  hands  are  filled  with 
the  rough  and  crude  elements  of  earth,  the  mind 
ranges  the  skies,  and  lives  amid  the  radiant  scenes 
of  immortality.  It  is  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy 
in  the  Holy  Ghost,  having  for  its  nutriment  the 
love  of  the  unseen  Redeemer,  in  whose  merits, 
mediation,  and  fulness  of  all  grace,  it  rejoices  with 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  It  is  not  some 
fitful  glow  of  fancy,  to  be  extinguished  by  the  first 
gloom  that  shrouds  it ;  not  the  idle  presumings  of 
ignorance,  or  delusion ;  but  the  very  reasonable- 
ness of  Christianity  displayed  in  the  experience 
of  the  heart,  and  expressed  in  amiableness  of  a 
godly  conversation. 

You  began  the  year  that  is  past,  and  that  on 
which  we  have  now  entered,  with  a  solemn  deter- 
mination to  be  more  devoted  to  God  in  all  pious 
affections  and  actions.  But  I  perceive  that  you 
have  had  vacillations.  You  have  been  in  heavi- 
ness through  manifold  temptations.  The  calm 
serenity  of  your  spirits  has  been  disturbed  by  the 
inherent  corruptions  of  your  nature  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  busy  solicitations  of  an  ensnaring 
world  on  the  other.  Your  prayers  have  been  un- 
frequent,  your  worldly  engagements  urgent,  your 
Bibles  insipid,  your  Sabbaths  dry  formalities,  and 
your  sanctuary  privileges  dull  recurrences  of  un- 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR.  229 

meaning  repetition.  Decency,  rather  than  dehght, 
has  prevented  some  of  you  from  being  strangers 
to  this  holy  habitation  of  God,  and  to  the  voice  of 
the  ministry.  What  shall  I  say  to  you  ?  I  re- 
member the  love  of  your  youth,  and  the  kindness 
of  your  espousals;  when  you  became  voluntary 
associates  with  the  people  of  God,  and  asked  to 
be  numbered  with  the  mourners  in  Zion ;  when 
you  moved  forward  to  the  margin  of  the  baptismal 
waters,  stood  erect  in  the  presence  of  the  descend- 
ing dove,  and  by  one  solemn  act  of  obedience  pro- 
claimed your  adhesion  to  the  Saviour  of  sinners. 
Jesus  too  remembers  that  day.  Conscience  too 
has  registered  that  transaction ;  and  the  church 
also  remembers  when  she  met  you  with  the  tokens 
of  fellowship  and  welcomed  you  to  a  place  at  the 
table  of  the  Lord.  What  shall  I  say  to  you,  de- 
clining, callous  hearts  ?  The  comparison  of  the 
past  and  the  present  pierces  my  deepest  sensibility. 
You  have  betrayed  our  common  Lord,  and  lel|; 
him  bleeding  in  a  fresh  crucifixion,  in  the  hands 
of  his  enemies.  You  have  torn  down  the  banner 
under  which  you  had  enlisted,  and  left  it  stained 
and  trampled  under  unhallowed  feet.  You  have 
convulsed  with  grief  the  gentle  bosoms  of  the 
saints.  But  upon  yourselves  you  have  heaped  the 
heaviest  woes.  Blasting  and  mildew  have  entered 
your  vineyard,  and  no  fruits  are  found.  Cutting 
down,  cutting  down,  will  be  the  order  of  the  great 

20 


230  FOR  A  NEW  YEAR. 

Proprietor,  grieved  and  indignant  at  your  defec- 
tion. 

The  patience  and  resignation  of  some  of  you 
have  been  tried  by  painful  bereavements,  and 
strained  into  utmost  tension  by  afflictive  visitations 
of  divine  Providence.  The  stern  decrees  of 
demanding  destiny  have  been  laid  upon  those  who 
had  stood  near  you  in  all  the  sacredness  of  affec- 
tion. Your  little  ones  have  been  smitten  with 
death  whilst  yet  clasped  in  your  arms,  and  those 
living  forms  on  which  you  had  lavished  your  affec- 
tions, to  which  your  hopes  had  looked  with  de- 
lighted anticipations,  have  gone  down  into  the 
cold  slumbers  of  the  grave.  All  your  parental 
tenderness  has  laboured  under  the  bereavement, 
has  staggered  beneath  the  pressure  of  such  ca- 
lamitous events. 

The  goodness  with  which  God  crowns  any  par- 
ticular period  of  our  lives,  is  but  the  earnest  of 
the  supreme,  final,  and  eternal  good,  which  he  has 
in  reserve  for  them  that  fear  and  love  him.  The 
benevolence  of  Deity  is  his  wonderful  plan  for 
their  progressive  beatification.  They  are  sown 
in  weakness,  but  will  be  raised  in  power;  sown  in 
corruption,  but  will  be  raised  in  incorruption ; 
sown  in  dishonour,  to  be  raised  in  glory.  The 
year  which  from  the  dry  seed  produced  the  fair 
and  lovely  tints  of  the  flower,  which  from  the  rep- 
tile worm  evolved  the  winged  beauty  that  flitted 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR.  OQI 

in  gorgeous  colours  through  the  purer  region  of 
air,  which  from  the  clods  of  the  earth,  after  the 
sower's  tread,  presented  the  full  and  waving  har- 
vest of  grain,  which  from  winter's  waste  flooded  a 
world  with  fresh  life  and  expression,  is  no  un- 
meaning intimation  of  that  renovating  power  by 
which  we  shall  be  changed  and  beautified  with 
bliss. 

The  crowning  mercy  of  the  Lord  has  augmented 
our  responsibilities,  and  made  still  stronger  our 
obligations.  When  we  behold  him  forgiving  all 
our  iniquities,  healing  all  our  diseases,  redeeming 
our  lives  from  destruction,  crowning  us  with  loving 
kindness  and  tender  mercy,  satisfying  our  mouth 
with  good  things,  and  renewing  our  youth  like  the 
eagle's,  we  must,  if  not  devoid  of  all  gratitude, 
burst  forth  into  strains  of  exalted  praise.  "  Bless 
the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me, 
praise  his  holy  name.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul, 
and  forget  not  all  his  benefits." 

The  knowledge  of  God  as  Benefactor,  as 
Saviour  and  Redeemer,  is  the  only  true  source  of 
all  correct  worship  and  obedience.  It  is  not  to  be 
denied  that  his  authority  overawes,  and  his  power 
coerces,  and  his  terror  alarms,  and  his  justice 
punishes  all  the  insubordination  of  rebellious 
spirits  ;  but  it  is  only  the  proper  apprehension  of  his 
goodness  and  mercy,  that  can  constitute  an  ortho- 
dox motive  to  obedient  conduct.     Such  an  appre- 


232  FOR  A  NEW  YEAR. 

hension  enters  the  soul  with  a  Hght  that  penetrates 
all  its  dark  chambers,  and  thence  expels  the  ser- 
vile dread  of  penal  inflictions.  It  conduces  directly 
to  the  creation  of  a  new  law  of  conduct,  of  a  new 
rule  of  action,  and  persuades  rather  than  com- 
mands ;  secures  the  accomplishment  of  its  purpose 
by  the  generous  excitements  of  gratitude  and  love. 
A  law  like  this  possesses  an  appreciable  power  in 
small  matters  as  well  as  in  great,  and  speaks  with 
an  authority  softened  and  sanctified  by  kindness 
and  gentleness.  It  proceeds  upon  this  principle, 
"  Not  that  we  loved  him,  but  that  he  loved  us, 
and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins. 
We  love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us.  If  any 
man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous."  Such  a  law  is  of 
infinitely  greater  force  than  all  the  menacing 
provisions  of  compulsory  power.  It  is  not  to  be 
abrogated  by  life,  nor  death,  nor  angels,  nor  prin- 
cipalities, nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  creature.  It  is  the  perfect  law  of  love 
which  casts  out  fear,  guards  the  soul  against  se- 
cret as  well  as  open  sins,  protects  the  whole  sis- 
terhood of  virtues,  and  rears  the  throne  of  God 
within  the  heart. 

What  may  not  be  expected  of  those  who  live 
under  the  control  of  such  a  law  ?  They  possess 
this  pre-eminent  advantage,  that  all  the  pain  of 


FOR  A  NEW  YEAR.  OQQ 

suffering  in  the  course  of  obedience,  is  lost  in  the 
joyful  results  of  that. obedience.  All  the  self-de- 
nial necessary  to  the  formation  of  a  right  charac- 
ter, is  converted  into  delights  and  satisfactions 
inseparable  from  that  character.  All  the  sorrows 
of  penitence,  are  turned  into  the  transports  of 
grateful  feeling,  the  assurance  of  that  forgiveness 
which  penitence  evinces. 


20 


* 


SERMON  XII. 

AGAINST   LUKEWARMNESS. 
Ps.  xxxi.  23. — O  love  the  Lord,  all  ye  his  saints. 

1.  I  SUBMIT  to  your  own  candid  reflections, 
whether  you  can  justify  that  cold-heartedness  and 
indifference  which  are  the  most  considerable  fea- 
tures in  your  rehgion.  Can  you  look  with  an  ap- 
proving sense  upon  a  life  more  remarkable  for  its 
defection  from  duty  than  for  any  other  character- 
istic ;  more  distinguished  for  a  mindless  apathy 
than  for  holy  zeal  ?  What  use  has  been  made  of 
the  time  since  which  you  first  avowed  yourselves 
the  Lord's  ?  Truly  it  has  been  flowing  on  in  that 
unperceived,  but  continuous  lapse  which  no  delays 
or  omissions  of  yours  can  for  a  moment  arrest, 
while  in  the  ascent  towards  heaven,  you  are  not 
seen  to  rise.  You  have  not  emerged  from  the 
cloudy  elements  of  a  detaining  and  hindering 
world.  In  the  day  when  your  souls  entered  into 
solemn  treaty  with  God,  you  surely  did  bind  and 
obligate  yourselves  to  something  more  than  a  life 


AGAINST  LUKEW A  RMNESS.  235 

of  spiritual  indolence.  That  which  you  covenant- 
ed and  promised  to  assume  for  the  Lord,  was 
something  more  than  the  naked  name  of  his  peo- 
ple ;  for  then  you  did  engage  with  the  professed 
consent  of  your  own  minds,  to  perform  faithfully 
your  pilgrimage  towards  the  heavenly  Jerusalem ; 
to  be  companions  of  all  them  who  fear  the  Lord, 
to  maintain  a  consistent  and  holy  life,  and  the  fel- 
lowship of  faith  with  the  Father  and  the  Son.  But 
with  the  exception  of  that  heartless  homage  with 
which  you  occasionally  compliment  Him,  there 
would  seem  to  be  no  intercourse  betwixt  you  and 
Him.  You  would  appear  to  think  it  time  enough 
to  increase  your  acquaintance  with  Him,  when 
you  and  He  shall  meet  in  the  next  world. 

It  may  not  be  impertinent  to  inquire,  whether 
Jehovah  has  any  thing  more  than  the  name  of 
being  your  God,  whilst  you  truly  have  something 
else  deified  in  his  stead.  In  taking  upon  your- 
selves the  name  of  his  people  did  you  understand 
that  this  was  all  you  had  to  do  ?  was  the  meaning 
of  the  transaction  limited  to  this,  in  your  view  of 
the  subject  ?  It  might  be  conjectured  that  this 
was  your  impression,  since  you  seem  to  have  part- 
ed with  every  thing  relating  to  it,  but  the  name. 
The  form  remains,  but  where  is  the  power  ?  The 
bodily  action  and  exercise  may  be  seen,  the  godly 
vitality  appears  not ;  the  name  of  life  stands  forth 
as  a  certificate  falsified  by  the  certain  death  which 


2Q(i  AGAINST  LUKEWARMNESS. 

holds  the  spirit  in  estrangement  from  God.  May 
it  not  be  feared  that  you  have  explained  away 
your  engagements  and  obligations ;  that  by  an  art- 
ful exposition  you  have  construed  into  nothing  the 
deed  of  surrender,  and  are  now  almost  ashamed 
of  yourselves  when  you  call  to  mind  that  weakness 
of  judgment  which  could  ever  permit  you  to  ima- 
gine that  any  of  the  verities  enter  into  religion. 
With  you  it  has  become  all  name  and  no  verity, 
all  shadow,  and  no  substance,  all  vision,  and  no 
reality.  It  is  proposed  to  you  to-day,  to  throw  off 
the  name.  Make  a  formal  relinquishment  of  such 
a  piece  of  mockery,  and  dissipate  the  fumes  of  de- 
ception which  have  gathered  about  your  minds. 
We  wait  for  your  renunciation.  What  is  there  in 
a  mere  name,  that  you  should  so  love  it,  and  so 
tenaciously  hold  it  ?  But  if  you  cannot  be  per- 
suaded to  give  up  the  name,  and  are  inclined  to 
think  that  you  are  in  fault  for  having  reduced  to 
an  idle  profession  that  vital  truth  and  power  which 
is  the  essence  of  personal  religion,  come, 

2.  And  represent  to  yourselves  the  criminality 
of  that  course  which  you  have  pursued.  It  may 
be  seen  in  this.  You  have  lived  and  acted  upon 
the  secret  presumption  that  God  is  not  necessary 
to  you.  It  has  appeared  to  you  necessary  to  have 
the  name  of  being  his,  but  the  thing  imported  in 
the  name,  has  not  been  judged  necessary.  Can 
there  be  a  greater  wickedness  than  for  a  depend- 


AGAINST  LUKEWARMNESS.  ^37 

ent  creature  to  regard  the  power  on  which  it  de- 
pends, as  unnecessary  to  it?  Was  there  ever 
ingratitude  more  monstrous  than  that  which  re- 
jects all  regard  to  the  benefactor,  whilst  it  is 
basking  in  the  sunshine  of  his  favours  ?  What 
aggravates  your  wickedness  is  this :  Many  lying 
vanities  have  been  deemed  necessary  to  you, 
though  the  Lord  was  not.  Upon  these  you  have 
set  your  hearts,  and  have  loved  them,  and  gone 
after  them,  and  served  them,  and  worshipped 
them.  Towards  these  you  have  been  lavish  of 
your  affections  even  to  prodigality;  they  have 
seemed  indispensable  to  you,  the  feeders  and 
nurses  of  your  very  being.  So  endeared  are 
they  to  you,  as  to  have  become  indispensable  to 
your  happiness ;  to  be  separated  from  these  pre- 
cious delusions  but  for  a  day,  or  part  of  a  day,  is 
absolute  wretchedness.  Not  so  the  absence  of 
the  Lord.  That  is  unregretted,  unmourned.  You 
and  he  are  not  such  inseparable  friends,  as  to 
render  his  absence  a  cause  of  disquietude. 

You  can  find  more  or  less  satisfaction  in  all 
the  objects  and  avocations  of  this  life.  The  daily 
recurrence  of  business,  your  food  and  drink,  your 
activity  and  rest,  your  intercourse  with  others, 
and  your  musings  in  solitude,  are  all  occasions 
and  causes  of  cheerfulness,  or  else  objects  of  de- 
sire. In  a  word,  you  respond  promptly  and  fre- 
quently to  the  demands  of  the  world.    The  calls 


238  AGAINST  LUKEWARMNESS. 

of  pious   duty   are   but   tardily   answered.     The 
glow  of  animation  which  lights  up  your   visages 
when  pressing  upon  your  temporal  vocations,  dis- 
appears the  very  moment  you  enter  the  sphere  of 
sacred  observances,  and  the  Lord  gets  from  you  a 
reluctant  tribute,  whilst   the  world  obtains  your 
ready   and    cheerful  devotion.     Revolve  in  your 
minds  the  aggravations  of  that  way  of  life  which 
presents  the  picture  of  a  soul  so  inverted  as  to 
find  pleasure  only  at  that  moment  when  it  is  look- 
ing away  from  God,  and  to  encounter  depression 
and  gloom  at  those  intervals  only  when  required 
to  engage  in  his  service.     Think  upon  the  time 
you  have  lost  from  the  pleasures  of  walking  with 
God,  the  danger  you  have  sustained  in  your  chief 
interests  through  that  remiss  and  negligent  con- 
duct to  which  your  religious  services  have  been 
subjected.     See    how   your    preparations   for   a 
blessed  eternity  are  postponed  and  retarded,  how 
much  wrong  is  done   to   your   souls,   and   what 
shameless  disrespect  is  shown  to  a  merciful  Sa- 
viour, by  spiritual  remissness  and  inaction. 

3.  Return  to  your  deserted  Lord,  with  a  weep- 
ing and  supplicating  penitence.  Open  freely  to 
him  your  whole  heart,  and  drag  forth  to  the  light 
of  your  own  consciousness,  at  least,  all  your  latent 
sin  and  deformity.  Let  your  voice  be  heard  by 
him,  in  the  bewailings  of  large  confessions  and 
acknowledgments,  and  speedily  allay  the  consum- 


AGAINST  LUKEWARMNESS.  OQO 

ing  venom  of  that  guilt  which,  pent  up  in  your 
hearts,  eats  hke  a  canker  the  living  energy  within 
you.     Remember  whence  you  are  fallen,  and  re- 
pent and  do  your  first  works.     Till  then,  he  has 
somewhat  against  you,  that  is,  you  have  left  your 
first  love.     With  the  consciousness  that  the  Lord 
has  somewhat  against  you,  how  can  you  avoid  the 
incessant  achings  of  a  troubled  spirit  ?     How  can 
you  find  it  in  your  hearts  to  smile  when  he  frowns? 
to  be  cheerful  when  he  is  stern  in  his  rebukes  ? 
to  be  pleased  when  he  is  displeased?     Can  the 
earth  beneath,  or  the  heavens  above,  afford  you 
one  sensation  of  delight,  while  he  that  beautifies 
the  one,  and  spreads  forth  the  other,  is  exposing 
and  condemning  your  folly  ?    He  is,  nevertheless, 
showing  his  mercy  by  his  mild  and  gracious  ex- 
postulations : — "  What  iniquity  hast  thou  found  in 
me,  that  thou  art  gone  far  from  me,  and  hast 
walked  after  vanity,  and  art  become  vain  ?"     "  O 
my  people,  what  have   I   done   unto   thee,   and 
wherein  have  I  wearied  thee  ?  testify  against  me." 
There  are  those  who  seem  to  regret  that  they  ever 
committed  themselves,  by  an  open  profession,  of 
love  to  God.     Were  it  not  for  the  shame  of  incon- 
sistency and  fickleness,  they  would  probably  re- 
tract their  hasty  vows.     But  for  what?     Have 
they  discovered  that  there  is  a  specious  cheat  in 
the  service  of  the  Lord  ?     Have  they  found  out 
that  he  was  only  ensnaring  them  when  by  his  al- 


2AQ  AGAINST  LUKEWARMNESS. 

luring  promises  he  drew  them  into  the  duties  and 
privileges  of  religion  ?  Having  made  trial  of  his 
ways,  do  they  now  perceive  that  they  were  misled, 
and,  therefore,  are  seeking  to  be  disabused  ?  What 
has  Christ  done  to  you,  that  you  have  become  so 
soon  estranged  from  him?  Did  he  require  too 
much  of  you,  and  commit  you  to  some  servile 
drudgery,  and  play  the  tyrant  over  you  ?  Did  you 
find  the  labour  too  much,  and  the  compensation 
too  small  ?  Testify  against  him,  and  say  wherein 
he  has  wearied  you  ?  Have  you  found  it  to  be  a 
vain  thing  to  serve  him,  and  are  therefore  deter- 
mined to  give  up  in  disgust  the  unprofitable  busi- 
ness ?  What  has  induced  you  to  act  such  a  part 
toward  him  ? 

4.  But  if  you  are  sorry  for  the  part  you  have 
acted,  there  is  yet  forgiveness  with  him,  that  he 
may  be  feared.  This  apprehension  should  at  once 
fill  you  with  humiliation  and  hope.  The  sense  of 
unkindness  to  the  Saviour,  should  lay  you  in  deep 
abasement,  whilst  the  hope  of  his  forgiveness 
should  stimulate  your  efforts  in  seeking  it.  The 
sinful,  comfortless  distance  at  which  you  stand,  is 
not  to  be  either  diminished  or  overcome,  by  sullen 
despondency.  Therefore,  apply  speedily  to  that 
Redeemer  whose  blood  procures  remission  of  sins. 
Go  to  him  in  the  sincerity  of  a  broken  heart,  and 
his  compassions  towards  you  will  be  found  not  to 
have  failed.     Carry  with  you  no  attempted  ex- 


AGAINST  LUKEWARMNESS.  241 

tenuations,  no  palliations  of  your  guilt,  but  with 
the  full  remembrance  of  all  its  aggravations,  ap- 
proach a  throne  of  grace,  and  cast  yourselves 
upon  divine  mercy.  Were  the  criminality  with 
which  you  are  chargeable,  such  as  to  blacken  your 
reputation  among  men,  and  to  expose  you  to  ne- 
glect or  contempt,  you  would  consider  your  case 
truly  horrid  and  deplorable.  The  matter,  how- 
ever, is  one  which  places  no  stigma  upon  your 
names.  You  may  live  in  the  most  inveterate 
habits  of  defection  from  God,  and  still  retain  the 
good  opinion  of  men.  You  may  keep  back  from 
him, every  reasonable  and  required  service,  and 
still  be  the  respected  members  of  civil  society. 
You  may  grieve  his  holy  Spirit,  quarrel  with  all 
his  providences,  discontinue  prayer,  and  count 
piety  a  piece  of  cant  and  trumpery,  all  without 
forfeiting  a  jot  of  the  world's  respect.  On  this  ac- 
count you  may  be  tempted  to  think  that  the  evil 
of  irreligion  deserves  not  very  serious  calculation, 
and  that,  in  a  transaction  so  secret  as  that  betwixt 
God  and  yourselves,  false  dealing  is  quite  an  excu- 
sable affair.  Here  is  probably  the  beginning  of 
those  errors  which  have  operated  so  much  to  the 
detriment  of  your  religion.  For,  if  truth  is  to  be 
regarded,  what  faithlessness  is  comparable  to  that 
which  violates  a  solemn  treaty  betwixt  spirit  and 
spirit,  God  and  the  soul  ?  What  treachery  is  like 
that  which  frustrates  the  most  sacred  protesta- 

21 


242  AGAINST  LUKEWARMNESS. 

tions,  and  leaves  unperformed,  promises  that  in- 
volve the  interests  of  eternity  ?  Should  you  con- 
centrate into  one,  all  the  atrocities  which  confer 
infamy  upon  human  character,  and  compare  the 
aggregate  with  the  blighting  reproach  of  falseness 
and  infidelity  to  the  Lord,  their  disparity  would 
be  like  that  betwixt  time  and  eternity.  If  you 
had  dealt  falsely  and  injuriously  with  some  friend 
in  a  matter  known  only  to  him  and  yourself,  would 
you  not  upon  reflection  blush  to  see  his  face  until 
reparation  had  been  made,  and  his  forgiveness 
sought  ?  Could  you  have  confidence  in  entering 
into  conversation  with  him  as  at  other  times, 
without  such  a  preface  ?  Now,  you  must  be  con- 
scious that  you  have  ill-treated  the  Lord.  You 
have  acted  unhandsomely  towards  a  most  in- 
dulgent and  faithful  friend,  and  should  seek  his 
forgiveness  with  all  due  demonstrations  of  contri- 
tion, before  you  can,  with  any  show  of  confidence, 
attempt  the  renewal  of  a  friendly  intercourse. 
And  how  should  it  melt  your  hearts  to  hear  him 
saying  to  you,  "  Return,  ye  backsliding  ones,  and 
I  will  not  cause  mine  anger  to  fall  upon  you,  for  I 
am  merciful,  saith  the  Lord,  and  I  will  not  keep 
anger  for  ever.  Return,  O  backsliding  children, 
saith  the  Lord,  for  I  am  married  unto  you." 

What  heart  would  not  break  and  bleed  at  such 
overtures  of  free  mercy  ?  You  can  never  recover 
your  capacity  for  delighting  in  God,  until  you  feel 


AGAINST  LUKEWARMNESS.  <J^3 

sensibly  the  great  need  of  forgiveness.  You  must 
become  petitioners  for  mercy,  earnest  and  impor- 
tunate beggars  for  it.  The  compassions  of  Jesus 
must  be,  of  all  things,  the  most  sweet  and  desira- 
ble to  you.  At  the  same  time,  the  sin  which  ren- 
ders mercy  necessary  must  be  the  matter  of  your 
grief  and  detestation. 

5.  Set  yourselves  to  seek  more  earnestly  a  set- 
tled temper  in  divine  things.  Turn  to  God  your 
most  constant  respect  and  adoration,  and  send 
forth  from  your  hearts  the  streams  of  hallowed  af- 
fection towards  his  beloved  Son.  Burst  through 
those  hinderances  which  in  time  past  have  either 
.  delayed,  or  wholly  intercepted  your  course  of  duty. 
Be  intent  upon  the  recovery  of  that  healthy  state 
of  experimental  grace  which  once  diffused  vivid 
satisfactions  all  along  your  path  of  obedience. 
Though  you  cannot  burn  with  the  holy  fire  of  the 
Seraph,  you  may  bend  in  lowliness  as  sinners,  and 
glow  with  the  thankfulness  of  redeemed  souls. 
Take  heed  that  you  place  all  the  matters  of  reli- 
gion in  their  due  proportions.  In  the  confidence 
of  pardon  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  of  his 
satisfaction  of  divine  justice  in  your  behalf,  do  not 
lose  sight  of  the  respect  due  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  to  the  cultivation  of  devout  and  sanc- 
tified affections,  and  to  the  self-denying  life  which 
accompanies  true  discipleship.  Avoid  the  perni- 
cious error  of  settling  upon  some  cardinal  doctrines 


244  AGAINST  LUKEWARMNESS. 

in  religion  to  the  exclusion  of  others  equally  car- 
dinal. Preserve  in  due  harmony  and  consistency 
all  the  parts  and  features  of  gracious  and  spiritual 
persons ;  and  thus  walk  worthy  of  God. 

6.  Labour  to  obtain  a  disposition  of  mind,  more 
actually,  ordinarily,  and  entirely  spiritual.  There 
are  fleshly  ascendencies  which  must  be  repressed 
and  countermanded.  You  must  fence  and  fight 
against  the  addictedness  of  your  hearts  to  soul-de- 
basing objects  and  pursuits.  Your  very  pleasures 
must  be  grave,  your  delights  must  have  the  alloy 
of  severity;  trembling  must  temper  your  joys. 
While  an  enemy  is  besieging  you,  much  time  must 
be  given  to  watching  and  guarding,  and  but  little 
to  enjoyment  and  repose.* 

*  For  some   of  the  leading    ideas  in  the  foregoing  hortatory  ad- 
dress, the  author  is  indebted  to  John  Howe. 


I 


SERMON   XIII.* 

MINISTERS   OF   THE   GOSPEL. 

2  Cor.  viii.  23. — They  are  the  messengers  of  the  churches  and  the 

glory  of  Christ. 

The  chapter  contains  a  commendatory  notice  of 
Titus,  and  of  another  brother,  whose  praise  in  the 
Gospel  was  in  all  the  churches.  Their  faithful- 
ness, integrity,  and  diligence,  are  asserted  in  clear 
and  forcible  terms,  and  their  consequent  fitness  to 
be  entrusted  with  the  care  of  the  common  bounty 
of  the  churches,  is  strenuously  urged.  In  treating 
of  common  matters,  Paul  never  loses  sight  of  the 
surpassing  interests  of  the  world  to  come ;  and 
when,  therefore,  he  reminds  the  Corinthian  church 
of  their  obligations  to  give  freely  and  liberally  to 
the  necessities  of  the  poor,  he  appeals  to  the 
"  Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  though  he 
was  rich,  yet  for  our  sake  became  poor,  that  we 
through  his  poverty  might  be  made  rich." 

In  replying  to  a  supposed  inquiry  respecting 
Titus  and  the  brethren  who  were  not  sent  with 

*  Delivered  at  the  ordination  of  the  Rev.  Morgan  John  Rhees  of 
Trenton,  N.  J. 

21* 


246  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

him,  he  expands  his  answer  into  a  most  instructive 
view  of  the  character  of  the  Ministers  of  Christ. 
Should  the  inquiry  be  renewed,  Who  is  Titus,  and 
who  are  these  brethren  ?  I  answer,  that  "  Titus  is 
my  partner  and  fellow  labourer  for  your  edifica- 
tion and  happiness,  and  the  brethren  are  the  mes- 
sengers of  the  churches,  and  the  glory  of  Christ." 
Without  proceeding  any  further  in  noticing  the 
literal  meaning  of  the  text,  we  may  grasp  at  once 
the  instruction  which  it  contains.  It  clearly  au- 
thorises THREE  distinct  views  respecting  those  to 
whom  the  high  functions  of  the  Gospel  Ministry 
are  confided.  First,  their  relation  to  each  other, 
"  He  is  my  partner  and  fellow  labourer."  Se- 
condly, their  relation  to  the  churches,  "  They  are 
the  messengers  of  the  churches."  Thirdly,  their 
relation  to  Christ,  "  They  are  the  glory  of  Christ." 
First.  The  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  seem  to 
have  a  sort  of  common  property  in  each  other. 
The  partnership  which  obtains  among  them,  is  a 
kind  of  moral  community  of  goods, — a  compact, 
the  implications  of  which  bind  all  the  parties  with 
the  same  force  as  if  there  had  been  regular  and 
formal  stipulations.  Without  ever  having  held  a 
convention  to  fix  the  condition  of  their  partner- 
ship, they  have  bound  themselves  to  observe  all 
its  provisions ;  and  without  the  adoption  of  any 
scale  to  regulate  profit  and  loss,  they  can  appor- 
tion the  common  results  of  the  concern  with  the 


MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  sy4*^ 

exactness  of  an  undeviating  proportion.  They 
have  common  objects  of  pursuit,  common  joys  of 
success,  common  fears  and  conflicts  in  trial  and 
exertion,  and  a  common  reward  for  suffering  and 
tribulation. 

A  unity  of  aim  and  purpose  must  pervade  their 
pursuits.  The  preaching  of  the  cross,  of  Christ  is 
their  great  work,  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  re- 
deemed by  his  blood,  their  one  all  engrossing  vo- 
cation. Those  who  labour  out  of  this  scope,  are 
spurious  members  of  the  ministerial  firm.  They 
have  other  ends  to  answer  than  the  glory  of  Christ, 
other  objects  of  solicitude  than  the  precious  souls 
of  men ;  and  they  have  accordingly  no  tie  of  unity 
to  connect  them  with  the  goodly  fellowship  of  the 
Gospel  College.  As  many  of  us  as  are  impelled 
by  the  just  and  lawful  principles  of  our  profession, 
are  laid  under  a  kind  of  obligation  to  consult  the 
same  interest,  and  prosecute  the  same  design.  As 
brethren  and  companions,  we  cannot  have  a  sepa- 
rate and  distinct  interest ;  we  cannot  mark  out 
definite  boundaries  of  possession,  and  establish 
laws  of  appropriation  under  which  selfishness  may 
find  a  province  to  be  active,  and  on  which  pride 
may  build  its  ambitious  pretensions.  We  are  a 
sweet  savour  unto  Christ,  and  in  this  character 
must  shed  around  us  an  influence,  which  cheers 
and  emboldens  all  the  parties  to  the  blessed  fel- 
lowship. 


248  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

The  faithful  heralds  of  the  cross,  rejoice  in  that 
succe  ;s  which  bears  upon  the  common  objects  of 
pursuit.  Thus  it  was  with  Barnabas  when  he  ar- 
rived at  Antioch,  and  had  seen  the  grace  of  God. 
"  He  was  glad,  and  exhorted  them  all,  that  with 
purpose  of  heart  they  would  cleave  unto  the  Lord." 
Such  was  the  all-absorbing  solicitude  of  Paul  for 
the  preaching  of  Christ  and  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners, that,  although  he  was  aware  that  some  had 
no  other  motive  in  proclaiming  Christ  to  the 
world,  than  to  add  affliction  to  his  bonds ^  that 
they  were  actuated  by  the  spirit  of  contention  and 
strife,  and  that  the  Saviour's  glory  was  no  object 
with  them,  yet  he  rejoiced  that  Christ  was 
preached.  He  would  not  allow  the  unworthy  de- 
signs of  the  preachers,  to  rob  him  of  that  honest 
satisfaction  which  the  triumphs  of  the  cross  in- 
spired. The  odious  temper  of  the  instruments, 
could  not  frustrate  that  rapture  with  which  his 
soul  was  filled  by  the  simple  fact  that  salvation 
w  as  proclaimed  to  dying  men.  We  shall  seriously 
abridge  our  happiness,  unless  we  cultivate  a  simi- 
lar spirit.  So  numerous  are  the  instances  in  which 
improper  motives  may  be  apprehended  in  those 
w  ho  assume  the  sacred  office,  that  we  shall  be  left 
to  pine  in  despondency,  unless  we  can  acquire  the 
art  of  rejoicing  in  the  bare  and  simple  fact  that 
Christ  is  preached.  And  if  we  can  attain  this 
happy  art,  how  much  more  shall  we  rejoice,  when 


MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  049 

we  can  view  with  complacency  and  approbation, 
not  only  the  end^  but  also  the  means ;  not  only 
the  glorious  vindication  of  our  Sovereign's  name 
and  interest,  but  also  the  ambassadors  who  act  as 
his  instruments. 

The  proper  sympathy  of  the  partnership  creates 
a  common  stock  out  of  the  trials,  infirmities,  and 
afflictions  of  all  the  members.  The  labours  of 
Paul  became  a  common  property  to  the  apostles, 
the  afflictions  of  the  martyrs  were  turned  into  the 
treasury  of  that  tribulation  in  which  they  alPglo- 
ried,  and  even  the  fall  of  Peter,  counted  a  large 
item  in  the  inventory  of  their  common  goods ;  be- 
cause such  an  event  was  well  calculated  to  subdue 
the  pride  of  confidence,  and  to  enrich  with  the 
grace  of  self-distrust  and  humility  all  the  followers 
of  Christ.  As  in  every  community  of  possessions, 
the  loss  must  be  taken  along  with  the  profit,  the 
evil  with  the  good,  the  painful  with  the  pleasant, 
so  it  is  with  us  who  are  fellow-laboureri.  There 
is,  however,  this  difference.  In  common  cases, 
the  loss,  the  evil,  the  painful  incidents  can  be 
turned  to  no  good  account.  In  our  case,  the  very 
slips  and  falls  of  our  companions  may  be  rendered 
useful  to  us.  By  these  we  are  taught  to  look  well 
to  our  ways,  to  fly  to  our  Rock  when  we  see  the 
storm  approaching,  to  run  into  the  Ark  when  we 
perceive  the  floods  to  be  rolling  on  towards  us, 


OKQ  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

and,  in  a  word,   to  avoid  the  catastrophe  into 
which  they  may  have  fallen. 

The  identity  of  the  final  rewards  to  the  Sa- 
viour's faithful  servants,  will  not  be  questioned. 
Nearness  to  his  person,  the  fulness  of  his  love,  and 
the  maturity  of  all  gracious  affections  towards  him 
must  constitute  the  future  crown  to  all  who  love 
his  appearing.  Happy  will  be  that  assemblage 
of  devoted  spirits,  which  shall  meet  to  part  no 
more ;  to  derive  all  their  bliss  from  one  source,  to 
bend  in  united  ardour  towards  the  centre  of  eter- 
nal and  changeless  perfection. 

Secondly.  Preachers  of  the  Gospel  are  the 
MESSENGERS  of  the  churchcs.  They  are  the 
apostles  of  the  congregations  that  fear  the  Lord, 
and  derive  all  their  authority,  under  God,  from 
the  voluntary  suffrages  of  the  brethren.  They 
are  properly  the  missionaries  of  Zion,  sent  out 
by  her  to  proclaim  the  tidings  of  salvation,  and  to 
make  her  a  joy  in  the  whole  earth.  The  church 
cannot  go  out  in  her  collective  capacity  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  She  must  become  a  nursing  mother 
to  those  sons  of  ardour  and  devotion,  who  shall 
traverse  the  desolations  of  the  world,  and  raise  an 
ensign  to  the  people  that  are  afar  ofl'.  A  church 
formed  upon  the  Gospel  model  is  a  missionary 
body.  This  is  an  essential  feature  in  its  constitu- 
tion. Without  this  characteristic  it  is  no  church. 
The  concentration  of  individual  members  into  one 


MINISTERS  OP  THE  GOSPEL.  rtfjl 

body,  may  indeed  answer  many  purposes,  both  in 
a  primary,  and  in  a  collateral  sense.  They  afford 
mutual  strength  and  encouragement,  build  up  each 
other  in  the  faith  by  mutual  edification,  and  find 
mutual  help  in  each  other's  sympathies,  prayers 
and  experimental  exercises.  But  all  these  objects 
seem  to  possess  no  more  than  a  collateral  import- 
ance, when  compared  with  the  single  purpose  of 
spreading  the  Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  If  there  be 
no  spreading  abroad  of  the  Gospel,  its  influence 
must  necessarily  become  extinct,  with  the  genera- 
tion that  now  professes  it.  If  the  sound  be  not 
propagated,  it  must  die  away  within  the  enclosure 
where  it  first  originated.  If  the  grace  of  the 
Gospel  be  not  sent  to  the  needy  and  to  the  desti- 
tute through  the  instrumentality  of  churches,  how 
is  it  to  go  ?  "  How  shall  they  hear  without  a 
preacher,  and  how  shall  one  preach  except  he  be 
sent?" 

We  acknowledge,  without  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion, that  it  is  wholly  within  the  competency  of 
God,  to  convert  the  world  by  the  ministry  of 
angels,  and  to  dispense  with  all  the  service  and 
agency  of  imperfect  creatures,  such  as  we  are. 
He  might,  if  he  pleased,  make  the  winds  his  mes- 
sengers, and  flames  of  fire  his  ministers.  He 
could  inspire  his  elect  with  all  the  sanctity  neces- 
sary for  their  spiritual  happiness,  by  the  secret 
operations  of  his  Spirit,  without  the  intervention 


252  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

of  any  means;  but  this  is  not  the  method  which 
he  has  adopted.  According  to  his  present  plan, 
the  Gospel  goes  no  where  without  a  messenger; 
Christ  is  preached  to  none  except  through  the 
agency  of  men ;  the  treasure  is  poured  into  no 
empty  souls,  except  from  the  earthen  vessels  in 
which  it  is  contained.  A  church  that  sends  out 
its  messengers,  acts,  therefore,  in  its  proper  capa- 
city, and  conforms  to  the  very  intentions  of  its 
existence.  It  sends  out  its  branches  to  the  rivers. 
"  The  hills  are  covered  with  its  shadow,  and  its 
boughs  are  like  the  goodly  cedars." 

We  may  observe  in  this  connexion  the  great 
responsibility  with  which  a  church  of  Christ  is 
charged.  It  is  the  source  from  which  must  flow 
abroad  the  pure  emanations  of  truth.  It  is  the 
central  glory  from  which  the  healing  beams  of 
righteousness  must  fall  on  the  dark  world.  It  is 
"the  garden  of  the  Lord,"  from  which  must  be 
gathered  the  fruits  that  are  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations.  The  church  in  a  manner  is  the  repre- 
sentative of  Christ  on  the  earth,  and  her  mes- 
sengers are  her  representatives  among  the  nations 
of  the  world.  If  it  be  proper  for  us  to  exercise  a 
rigid  caution  in  the  selection  of  those  who  are  to 
sustain  our  reputation  and  interest  in  temporal 
matters,  how  much  more  does  it  become  us  to 
bring  into  requisition  the  utmost  care  and  circum- 
spection, the  most  earnest  prayers  and  supplica- 


MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  253 

tions  to  God,  when  we  act  as  a  church  in  sanc- 
tioning and  directing  the  mission  of  those  who  are 
to  represent  us  in  the  world?  They  are  to  treat 
with  immortal  beings  on  the  high  destinies  of 
eternity.  They  are  to  stand  betwixt  the  living 
and  the  dead,  and  to  take  forth  the  precious  from 
the  vile.  The  care  of  souls  is  confided  to  them, 
and  to  their  stewardship  is  committed  the  mani- 
fold grace  of  God. 

Do  not  many  of  our  churches  indulge  a  most 
censurable  remissness  on  this  head  ?  Instead  of 
requiring  in  their  messengers  a  high  degree  of 
wisdom,  intelligence,  and  sanctified  experience, 
they  content  themselves  with  qualifications  and 
attainments  which  seem  to  court  the  pity,  rather 
than  to  win  the  souls  of  men.  Instead  of  using 
the  means  and  resources  which  the  providence  of 
God  has  placed  at  their  command,  and  which,  in 
connexion  with  prayer,  are  to  increase  the  number 
of  labourers  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  they 
calmly  yield  to  the  supineness  of  inaction.  Ye 
churches  that  have  been  bought  with  the  blood  of 
Christ,  what  messengers  have  you  sent  out  ?  . 
What  streams  have  gone  out  from  you  to  make 
glad  the  city  of  God  ?  How  much  better  is  the 
world  for  your  existence  ?  How  many  wandering 
sheep  have  been  reclaimed  to  the  folds  of  God  by 
means  of  the  under-shepherds  which  have  been 
nurtured  in  your  bosom  ?     Have  your  sons  stood 

22 


254  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

in  the  gate  to  speak  with  the  enemy  ?  Have  they 
made  your  name  honourable  in  the  sight  of  men ; 
and  recorded  your  memorial  in  the  annals  of  the 
blessed  ? 

The  apostles  of  the  churches  may  find  in  the 
designation  under  which  they  act  an  instructive 
intimation.  It  should  be  our  first  care,  brethren, 
to  bring  to  a  healthy  condition  the  churches  of 
Christ.  Our  commission,  under  Christ,  comes 
from  them,  and  they  should,  therefore,  be  duly 
respected  in  all  our  ministrations.  Our  success 
must  greatly  depend  upon  them,  and  the  ground 
of  our  rejoicing  must  be  found  in  the  orderly  pro- 
secution of  their  high  vocation.  We  shall  find  in 
all  cases  that  when  the  spirit  of  religion  languishes 
in  the  church,  our  ministry  will  be  unproductive, 
and  on  the  other  hand,  that  fruits  of  an  abundant 
and  happy  character  will  crown  our  labours,  when 
our  churches  are  in  the  vigorous  pursuit  of  their 
proper  objects. 

Finally,  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  faith- 
ful heralds  of  the  Gospel,  are  the  glory  of  Christ. 
The  application  of  an  epithet  so  high  and  honour- 
able to  imperfect  men,  may  seem  to  require  some 
justifying  considerations.  To  us  then  it  would 
appear,  that  they  are  called  the  glory  of  Christ, 
because  Christ  is  not  preached  without  them,  be- 
cause he  has  suspended  his  glory  upon  the  issue  of 
their  efforts,  because  his  religion,  possessed  and 


MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  255 

exemplified  by  them,  constitutes  their  most 
genuine  glory.  Time  does  not  permit  us  to  en- 
large upon  these  considerations.  But  you  will 
perceive  in  their  mere  announcement,  the  mighty 
views  involved  in  the  offices  of  the  ministry. 

This  church  has  seen,  or  thought  it  saw,  in  the 
brother  to  be  set  apart  this  evening  to  the  work  of 
an  Evangelist,  the  qualifications  of  a  messenger. 
As  a  church,  we  are  bound  to  make  a  solemn  ex- 
pression of  our  gratitude  to  God,  that  he  is  send- 
ing from  our  bosom  this  son  of  consolation.  We 
trust  that  he  has  so  learned  Christ,  that  it  will 
be  his  greatest  delight  to  spend  and  be  spent  in 
his  service ;  that  he  will  become  a  useful  repre- 
sentative of  us,  to  those  who  are  strangers  to  us, 
and  to  their  divine  Master ;  and  that  he  may  ap- 
pear at  last  among  those  who  shall  reflect  the 
GLORY  OF  Christ. 


SERMON    XIV. 

THE   LOVE   OF   SUPERIORITY. 
1  Cor.  i.  31. — He  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord. 

There  are  those  in  the  world  who  glory  in 
their  shame;  and  there  are  others  who  are 
ashamed  of  that  which  would  constitute  their 
true  glory.  The  former  class  is  that  large  por- 
tion of  human  beings  who  pride  themselves  upon 
the  acquisition  and  retention  of  qualities  which 
misbecome  their  rational  nature,  and  drag  them 
down  from  the  elevation  proper  to  men;  who 
boldly  cast  off  the  restraints  of  religion  and  the 
sober  decencies  of  moral  life,  and  live  in  the 
licentiousness  of  profane  opinions  and  loose  prac- 
tices ;  who  hurl  defiance  at  the  men  of  reason, 
scoff  at  all  seriousness,  and  sit  down  in  the  seat  of 
the  scornful.  They  make  a  boast  of  irreligion 
and  impiety,  and  challenge  respect  just  in  propor- 
tion as  they  become  ungodly.  Among  such,  he  is 
in  highest  request  whose  invention  is  most  ready 
in  discovering  new  forms  of  wickedness;  whose 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  257 

wit  cuts  with  the  keenest  edge  the  maxims  of 
virtue,  and  whose  ridicule  is  most  successful  in 
turning  the  loud  laugh  of  effrontery  against  sacred 
things.  Their  criminality  acquires  such  hardihood, 
as  no  longer  to  court  concealment,  and  their  moral 
deformities,  which  once  sought  secrecy,  are  divest- 
ed of  all  disguise,  and  thrust  forth  into  the  light  of 
day.  They  discuss  in  cold  hlood  schemes  of  insi- 
dious crime,  and  mature  their  mischievous  devices 
with  a  sort  of  unimpassioned  depravity;  with  them 
the  right  and  the  wrong  in  actions  are  marked  by 
no  distinctive  boundaries.  Betwixt  good  and  evil 
there  is  no  line  of  demarcation.  These  are  they 
who  glory  in  their  shame. 

There  are  those,  on  the  other  hand,  who, 
through  weakness  and  reserve,  are  ashamed  of 
that  which  would  conduct  them  on  to  genuine 
glory.  The  right  way  they  know,  and  that  too 
they  approve.  All  their  convictions  are  on  the 
side  of  reason,  of  truth,  and  of  piety.  But  they 
are  wanting  in  manly  resolution  and  fortitude. 
They  have  not  added  to  their  faith  virtue. 
They  are  soldiers  to  all  intents,  except  in  the  pro- 
fession of  arms.  They  cannot  be  induced  to  take 
their  places  under  the  proper  standards. 

It  seems  to  have  escaped  them  that  it  is  the 
glory  of  man  to  be  afraid  of  nothing  so  much 
as  sin,  and  to  cultivate  nothing  so  much  as 
holiness ;  that  religion  is  a  crown  of  beauty  on 

22* 


258  THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

his  head,  and  a  circling  lustre  about  his  whole 
person;  that  it  is  his  glory  to  reconstruct  the 
moral  edifice  which  others  have  shattered  and 
cast  down;  and  as  far  as  possible  to  become  the 
architect  of  human  happiness.  In  attempting  to 
pursue  such  high  enterprises,  he  will  meet  many 
things,  however,  of  which  he  may  be  tempted  to 
be  ashamed.  His  prayers,  his  self-denial,  the 
humble  character  of  his  associates,  the  oppro- 
brium cast  by  a  gainsaying  world  upon  the  profes- 
sion of  devotion  to  that  Saviour  whose  kingdom 
is  not  of  this  world,  may  become  so  many  occa- 
sions  of  shame. 

Many,  indeed,  know  it  to  be  their  duty  to  glory 
in  the  Lord,  but  have  never  tasted  the  bliss  to  be 
derived  from  the  open  and  confident  discharge  of 
their  duty.  The  rapture  of  repose  in  God,  and 
the  solace  of  resignation  to  his  will,  they  never 
felt.  They  are  not  without  the  desire  of  supe- 
riority, and  the  ambition  of  a  distinguished  posi- 
tion in  life.  They  are  aware,  too,  that  the  road 
to  the  desired  eminence  lies  along  the  straight 
line  of  an  uncompromising  rectitude,  and  that 
they  can  only  attain  the  consummation  of  their 
desires  by  opposing  the  appetites  and  reversing 
the  purposes  of  depraved  nature.  They  are 
aware,  also,  that  the  judgment  of  God  and  the 
judgment  of  the  world  on  moral  worth  and  supe- 
riority, do  by  no  means  coincide.     Still  they  need 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  OKQ 

boldness  and  decision  to  urge  them  forward  in  that 
plan  of  dignified  effort  which  their  own  minds 
have  projected  and  approved.  They  need  an  ob- 
ject in  which  they  may  glory,  an  occasion  of  legi- 
timate boasting  and  exultation.  They  seem  to 
demand  a  field  of  holy  rivalship,  in  which  success 
awakens  no  jealousy,  and  victory  disturbs  not  the 
fitful  slumbers  of  envy.  They  need  a  scope  of 
action,  in  which  valour,  untainted  with  blood  and 
violence,  may  exert  itself  in  the  advancement  of 
human  weal,  in  which  true  riches,  freed  from 
Time's  pageant,  may  diffuse  beneficence ;  in  which 
wisdom,  purified  from  earth's  ambitions,  may  shed 
a  benignant  glory. 

Their  need  is  met  and  supplied  by  the  compre- 
hensive and  beautiful  sentiment — "  Let  him  that 
glorieth  glory  in  the  Lord."  Let  him  who  desires 
superiority,  seek  it  in  the  Lord.  Let  him  who 
would  invest  himself  with  a  character,  unsullied 
and  imperishable,  obtain  his  immortality  from  the 
Lord. 

The  Lord  takes  especial  care  to  honour  those 
who  glory  in  him.  He  admits  them  to  a  partici- 
pation in  his  triumphs,  and  conveys  them,  bathed 
and  purified  in  his  own  sapphire  fount  of  light  and 
love,  to  the  scenes  of  his  final  glorification.  While 
they  who  are  glorying  in  their  own  resources,  the 
strong  man  in  his  strength,  the  man  of  valour  in 
his  courage,  the  man  of  opulence  in  his  wealth. 


250  THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

the  man  of  wisdom  in  his  science,  are  fading  into 
darkness.  They  are  receding  from  life's  perspec- 
tive, and  sinking  down  soon  to  disappear.  To 
them, 

Life's  but  a  lightning's  flash  of  breath, 
Fame,  but  a  thunder  clap  at  death. 

In  enlarging  further  upon  the  subject  now  be- 
fore us,  permit  me  to  observe, 

First.  That  there  is  a  love  of  superiority  almost 
universal,  and   as   pernicious  as  it  is  universal. 

Secondly.  There  is  again  a  love  of  superiority 
which  deserves  to  be  universal  on  account  of  its 
admirable  results. 

First.  There  is  an  almost  universal  desire  of 
superiority  which  is,  nevertheless,  pernicious.  It 
is  a  passion  coeval  with  the  being  of  man  and 
the  formation  of  human  society ;  and  from  the 
first  to  the  last  example  of  its  full  and  effective 
developement,  has  assumed  an  aspect  sufficiently 
hideous.  It  instigated  the  first  murder,  and  from 
the  time  of  Cain  to  the  present  moment  has  not 
ceased  to  revel  in  crime  and  blood.  It  was  the 
inciting  principle  which  first  made  and  perpetu- 
ated kings  and  tyrants,  which  placed  some  in 
power  and  others  in  subjection,  which  prompted 
to  the  disregard  of  human  rights  and  happiness, 
and  trampled  down  all  that  opposed  its  aspiring 
aims  at  domination. 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  261 

The  most  sanguinary  and  desolating  wars  have 
had  their  prolongation,  at  least,  in  the  desire  of 
superiority.  For  most  of  the  wars  which  have 
agitated  the  nations  of  the  earth  from  the  earliest 
times,  have  been  mainly  trials  of  strength  and  mi- 
litary power.  If  their  first  hostile  movements 
have  been  sanctioned  by  the  pretexts  of  justice, 
they  have  soon  lost  sight  of  those  pretexts,  and 
merged  every  thought  in  that  absorbing  one  of 
ultimate  triumph. 

The  empires  and  kingdoms  of  Asia  and  of  Eu- 
rope have  almost  uniformly  exhibited  in  all  their 
history  the  spectacle  of  rival  powers  contending 
for  the  supremacy.  Mighty  competitors  are  seen 
taking  the  field  against  each  other,  with  scarce 
any  other  question  to  be  decided,  than  which  of 
them  should  be  greatest.  Governments  are  sub- 
verted, cities  with  all  their  arts  and  magnificence 
laid  in  ruins,  whole  countries  left  desolate  and 
waste,  the  blood  of  millions  poured  out,  and  their 
bones  scattered  to  the  winds  of  heaven  for  no  other 
purpose  than  that  one  human  being,  or  one  nation 
might  become  greater  than  another  j  that  one 
worm  of  the  earth  might  exalt  itself  more  than 
others. 

Wealth  is  often  sought  on  account  of  the  sup- 
posed pre-eminence  which  it  confers  upon  its  pos- 
sessors. But  for  this  we  should  find  men  pausing 
in  their  pursuit  of  gain  after  having  acquired  a 


2(52  THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

sufficiency  for  their  wants  and  elegancies.  It  is, 
however,  not  uncommon  to  see,  that  their  past 
successes  and  acquisitions  stimulate  the  appetite 
for  getting  and  holding,  until  that  appetite  trans- 
cends all  the  bounds  of  moderation.  And  so  long 
as  they  see  others  more  wealihy  than  themselves, 
and  looking  up  find  that  many  are  above  them  in 
the  distinctions  which  mammon  confers  on  his  vo- 
taries, they  are  affected  with  discontent.  They 
therefore  redouble  their  efforts ;  embark  in  new 
schemes ;  increase  the  intensity  of  their  devotions 
at  the  shrine  of  the  god  of  this  world,  until  their 
idolatry  becomes  complete,  and  soul  and  body  are 
given  up  voluntary  victims  to  the  exactions  of  the 
monster.  Many  pleas  may  be  urged  in  extenua- 
tion of  the  evil  arising  from  a  love  of  greatness 
such  as  this.  It  may  be  alleged,  that  it  becomes 
eventually  useful  to  society ;  that  it  tends  to  the 
growth  and  advancement  of  good  arts,  and  to  the 
general  improvement  of  the  resources  of  a  com- 
munity. But  we  are  viewing  the  exorbitant  pas- 
sion for  v\  ealth,  in  its  effects  upon  individual  cha- 
racter and  happiness.  Here,  it  is  most  disastrous. 
Under  its  influence  the  mind  becomes  perplexed 
by  difficult  and  embarrassing  calculations,  the  soul 
is  turned  away  from  the  pursuit  of  exalted  good, 
and  confined  to  earth,  the  vigour  and  heaven-lit 
ardour  of  the  Spirit  are  embedded  and  stiffed  in 
earth's  dark  cemetery.    Besides  this,  when  riches 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  rt/jo 

become  the  road  to  superiority,  they  are  too  often 
pursued  to  the  utter  disregard  of  right.  Their 
acquisition  must  be  compassed.  Right  or  wrong 
the  work  of  accumulation  must  go  on,  and  hence 
many  must  suffer  through  the  arts  of  sinister  ma- 
nagement, or  the  bold  rapacity  of  extortion. 

What  is  it  but  the  love  of  superiority  that 
creates  in  man  a  deadly  animosity  against  his  fel- 
low man  ?  The  wretched  duellist,  who  calculates 
nothing  but  the  chances  of  escape  and  death ;  who 
starts  not  back  at  the  haggard  form  of  his  antago- 
nist, weltering  in  blood  and  writhing  in  death- 
pangs  ;  whose  hard  heart  is  not  once  touched  at 
the  thought  of  a  mother  frantic  with  grief,  or  mute 
with  despair,  for  the  loss  of  her  cherished  son, — is 
moved  by  some  desire  of  superiority.  It  can 
hardly  be  mere  vindictiveness  that  instigates  his 
mad  career.  He  wishes  to  fill  a  large  space  in 
the  eve  of  the  world,  and  rather  than  live  without 
fame,  seeks  even  a  bad  notoriety. 

Importunate  and  eager  candidates  for  high  offi- 
cial stations,  are  frequently  in  quest  of  mere  supe- 
riority. To  be  higher  than  others,  and  by  this 
means  to  draw  upon  themselves  the  admiration  of 
those  placed  amid  the  inferior  walks  of  life,  is 
their  leading  purpose.  They  seem  to  have  omitted 
the  reflection,  which  might  make  them  useful 
members  of  society,  by  sending  them  to  their 
proper  sphere,  and  which  would  have  taught  them 


OaA  THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

that  those  men  who  would  gain  situations  of  dig- 
nity for  the  sake  of  gratifying  and  serving  them- 
selves, are  ready  in  general  to  seek  them,  but  do 
not  deserve  them ;  while  they  who  would  reach 
those  eminences  for  the  sake  of  serving  and  bene- 
fiting others,  deserve  the  elevation,  but  do  not 
seek  it.  It  is  surely  a  bad  ambition  which  urges 
a  man  to  sacrifice  truth,  justice,  principle,  and 
honour,  in  the  pursuit  of  high  places.  That  which 
he  sacrifices  in  achieving  his  distinctions,  ought 
to  be  respected  by  him  as  the  only  basis  of  true 
greatness. 

The  apex  of  the  pyramid  may  be  reached  and 
held  firmly,  as  well  by  the  reptile  that  crawls  up, 
as  by  the  eagle  that  soars  high  and  pounces  upon 
it.  But  its  lofty  point  is  disgraced  and  injured 
by  the  one,  while  it  is  beautified  by  the  presence 
of  the  other.  When  the  lower  animals  look  up, 
and  see  one  of  the  anfractuous  tribe  so  much 
above  them,  they  hardly  restrain  their  indignant 
murmurs;  not  a  feeling  of  reluctance  disturbs 
them,  when  they  see  there  the  proper  occupant. 

How  much  must  they  love  an  eminent  condi- 
tion, who,  for  the  sake  of  a  short-lived  enjoyment 
of  it,  expose  themselves  to  the  invidious  gaze,  and 
cavils,  and  petulant  captiousness  of  all  who  choose 
to  assail  them ;  who  undergo  fatigues,  encounter 
toil  and  vigilance,  and  suffer  the  excitement  inci- 
dent  to   oflfensive    collisions,   in   order   to   place 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  265 

themselves  in  that  very  attitude  v^hich,  of  all 
those,  is  the  least  designed  for  them  by  that 
Power  who  disposes  and  arranges  all  things? 

Meanwhile,  when  the  order  of  nature  is  so  in- 
verted, and  by  parity,  insulted,  the  quiet  and  peace- 
ful avocations  of  communities  suffer  a  periodical 
disturbance,  from  the  excited  contests  of  those 
aiming  at  the  uppermost  places  in  society.  In 
such  instances  of  hot  rivalship,  truth  and  modera- 
tion are  usually  cast  into  the  background ;  merit 
and  demerit  are  the  factitious  phantoms  of  the 
moment,  and  character,  how  dear  and  sacred 
soever,  is  levelled  to  the  mire  and  dirt  of  abuse, 
by  the  genius  of  unsparing  detraction. 

Even  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life,  we  see  de- 
veloped the  same  master  passion.  Disputes  and 
controversies  are,  by  it,  exasperated  into  clamours 
criminative  and  recriminative ;  discussions  which 
commenced  in  good  feeling  and  mutual  respect, 
are  wrought  into  a  tempest ;  the  courtesies  of  life 
are  insulted  and  repealed,  and  those  who  should 
be  brothers,  are  torn  from  each  other  by  the  de- 
mon of  discord  ;  and  all  this,  because  it  cannot 
be  decided  which  shall  be  the  greatest  and  the 
highest. 

It  is  seen,  not  unfrequently,  that  a  vain  and  idle 
competition  exists  among  individuals  of  the  same 
society,  in  matter  of  dress,  furniture,  equipage, 
and  other  articles  of  necessary  accommodation. 

23 


2gA  THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

Those  who  vie  with  each  other  in  the  style  and 
costhness  of  these  things,  are  apt  to  run  into  ex- 
travagance, and  to  expend  upon  show  and  state 
what  should  be  given  to  sacred  uses.  How  pue- 
rile, how  weak  is  it,  to  glory  in  those  sumptuous 
decorations  which  the  moth  corrodes,  and  the  light 
of  heaven  dims  into  meanness. 

I  might  here  mention  the  pride  of  life,  of  talent, 
of  personal  strength  and  courage,  of  country,  of 
ancestors,  of  skill  and  dexterity  in  arts,  as  so  many 
grounds  upon  which  has  proceeded  the  assump- 
tion of  superiority.  But  time  does  not  permit  me 
to  enlarge  upon  this  part  of  the  subject. 

The  occasion  of  this  address,*  and  the  circum- 
stances of  those  who  compose,  in  part  at  least, 
my  audience,  remind  me,  that  I  should  be  unfaith- 
ful to  my  obligations,  were  I  to  omit  two  sorts  of 
pride  as  prolific  of  ill :  The  pride  of  learning, 
and  the  pride  of  religion.  Do  not  understand  me 
to  mean,  that  the  undue  love  of  superiority  can 
derive  any  lawful  gratification  from  these  sources. 
I,  therefore,  employ  the  terms  merely  to  charac- 
terise the  departments,  in  which  a  passion  intend- 
ed to  be  productive  of  good,  may  be  grievously 
pernicious. 

In  reference  to  learning,  there  is  reason  to  ap- 
prehend that  the  axiom  of  a  great  and  compre- 

*   Delivered   on   commencement-day    of  Brown   University,    Sept. 
1837,  in  the  meeting  house  of  the  First  Baptist  Church. 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  OfjT 

hensive  mind  has  been,  after  all  that  has  been 
said  of  it,  misunderstood  and  perverted.  "  Know- 
ledge is  power."  It  is  indeed  power.  But  power 
to  do  what  ?  Power  to  be  what  ?  Power  in  the 
abstract,  or  power  in  the  events  and  accidents  of 
practical  combinations?  If  it  be  construed  into 
a  power  to  do  good  and  to  prevent  evil,  to  aug- 
ment the  moral  strength  of  the  social  body,  and 
to  provide  for  its  preservation,  then  it  is  such 
power  as  every  friend  of  God  and  man  may 
desire  to  see  operating  in  every  class  of  society. 
It  was  in  this  sense  the  maxim  was  intended  to  be 
applied  by  its  great  author.  In  this  view  it  must 
be  universally  conceded  that  knowledge  is  power 
never  enough  desired,  never  enough  lauded.  But 
it  is  also  in  reality  power  to  do  harm,  both  to  its 
own  possessor  and  to  others.  When  acquired  for 
the  alone  sake  of  the  distinctions  that  accompany 
it,  or  cultivated  for  vain-glorious  ostentation,  or 
worn  about  as  the  badge  of  pride,  or  pressed  into 
the  service  of  sordid  and  malignant  passions,  it 
becomes  a  baleful  power.  Under  such  an  abuse 
it  is  more  to  be  dreaded  than  ignorance,  by  how 
much  the  more  it  is  capable  of  exerting  a  widely 
extended  and  systematic  instrumentality  in  the 
spread  of  ruin  and  devastation.  But  science  and 
learning  vindicated  and  rescued  from  such  abuses, 
is  the  most  direct  way  to  true  happiness.  The 
pleasure  of  knowledge  sanctified  and  elevated,  is 


2gg  THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

that  which,  of  all  others  on  earth,  is  most  deserv- 
ing the  name. 

"  Such  is  the  craving  eagerness  of  man  for  enjoy- 
ment, that  unless  he  can  obtain  it  within  the  legi- 
timate bounds  of  morality  and  virtue,  he  will 
seldom  scruple,  unless  restrained  by  a  higher 
principle  of  religion,  to  trangress  those  limits." 

"Very  frequently,  indeed,  he  is  instigated  by 
passion,  hurried  by  some  precipitate  impulse,  or  led 
by  a  cool  and  deliberate  calculation  of  some  un- 
lawful advantage  or  gratification,  to  the  gross  and 
outrageous  violation  of  those  salutary  principles. 
But  though  prudence  and  other  subordinate  con- 
siderations of  safety  and  interest  should  be  effec- 
tual in  keeping  him  within  the  just  boundaries 
prescribed  by  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  though 
his  habits  should  not  degenerate  into  crimes  im- 
peachable at  the  bar  of  the  magistrate,  yet  there 
will  still  be  abundant  scope  for  the  practice  of  every 
vice,  and  for  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  in  every  form 
of  depravity,  and  through  every  channel  of  sensual 
indulgence.  If  he  is  a  stranger  to  a  purer,  sub- 
limer,  and  more  intellectual  range  of  enjoyments, 
he  will  be  urged  by  a  native  tendency,  operating 
in  him  with  the  force  of  a  species  of  moral  neces- 
sity, but  a  necessity  which  neutralises  none  of  his 
guilt,  to  slake  his  thirst  after  happiness  from  some 
more  turbid  source.  According  to  the  extent  of 
his  means,  and  the  peculiar  bias  of  his  constitu- 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  269 

tional  temperament,  he  will  either  indulge  in  the 
excesses  of  prodigality  and  unrestrained  libertin- 
ism, or  in  the  pursuit  of  those  meaner  and  more 
grovelling  gratifications  which  every  one  may 
command.  Impatient  of  the  insipidity  of  the 
same  dull  round  of  employments,  of  the  torpor  of 
unexercised  faculties,  and  of  the  insupportable 
weight  of  unoccupied  time,  he  will,  perhaps, 
plunge  into  the  vortex  of  dissipating  amusements, 
where  vice  meets  him  in  every  seductive  form, 
and  where  the  atmosphere  is  contaminated  with 
principles  fatal  to  the  best  interests  of  virtue  ;  or 
he  may  frequent  those  resorts  of  intoxication  and 
excess,  where  the  orgies  of  nocturnal  revelry  are 
celebrated,  and  where  the  votaries  of  vice  meet 
together,  as  if  for  the  express  purpose  of  perform- 
ing the  obsequies  of  morality." 

"  But  let  the  ennobling  and  elevating  spirit  of 
science  once  deeply  imbue  his  mind,  and  I  will 
venture  to  affirm  that,  at  least,  a  very  powerful, 
if  not  completely  influential,  counteracting  prin- 
ciple will  become  incorporated  into  his  character. 
Let  knowledge  unfold  its  resources,  and  literature 
display  its  inexhaustible  treasures  before  him.  Let 
the  mechanical  arts  no  longer  remain  mechanical, 
but  by  the  discovery  of  their  astonishing  forces 
and  capabilities  of  application,  become  mental  and 
intellectual  employments  in  his  hands.  Let  ma- 
thematics,  in  their  abstruse,   and  more  remote 

23* 


270  '^"^  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

combinations  of  quantity,  and  in  their  practical 
adaptations  to  the  various  uses  of  life,  employ  the 
acuter,  and  more  investigating  faculties  of  his 
mind.  Let  chemistry,  containing  the  laws  of  mat- 
ter, in  every  form  of  composition  and  analysis, 
teach  him  to  look  with  a  scientific  eye  to  every 
object  with  which  he  is  surrounded.  Let  astro- 
nomy reveal  her  stupendous  wonders  to  his  vie\v, 
and  engage  his  soul  in  the  contemplation  of  her 
brilliant  phenomena.  Let  history  unroll  her  re- 
cords, and  cause  to  pass  before  him  in  review,  the 
diversified  scenery  of  ages  and  generations  past, 
presenting  in  more  prominent  exhibition,  those 
striking  epochs  which  have  exerted  an  extensive 
and  lasting  influence  upon  the  destinies  of  man- 
kind. Let  poetry,  chaste,  pure,  and  sublime,  en- 
chant him  with  the  magic  of  her  charms,  and 
soothe  him  with  the  melody  of  her  voice,  tinging 
every  scene  with  colours  of  a  brighter  hue,  and 
arraying  the  face  of  nature  with  beauties  not  its 
own.  Let  his  various  faculties  be  thus  directed 
towards  their  appropriate  objects,  and  flow  forth 
in  their  respective  channels  of  enjoyment,  I  do  not 
indeed  assert  that  he  will  be  every  thing  that  he 
may  and  ought  to  be,  but  it  may  be  afiirmed,  that 
he  will  have  in  himself  such  resources ;  that  he 
will  have  at  all  times  at  command  such  diversi- 
fied means  of  refined  and  exquisite  enjoyment,  as 
will  be  sufficient  to  preserve  him  from  any  ima- 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  Oiyt 

ginary  necessity  of  recurring  to  pleasures  of  a  de- 
basing or  questionable  character." 

"  But  it  is  only  while  science  confines  herself  to 
her  suitable  office  of  being  a  handmaid  to  religion, 
and  through  the  gradation  of  the  exquisite  ar- 
rangement of  subordinate  and  secondary  causes, 
conducts  the  mind  to  the  acknowledgment  and 
admiration  of  the  great  First  Cause,  that  she  is 
entitled  to  countenance  and  respect.  It  is  her 
business,  if  we  may  venture  to  apply  a  heathen  il- 
lustration, to  lead  the  inquirer  through  that  beau- 
tiful range  of  harmonious  and  mutual  operations, 
which  pervade  the  economy  of  the  universe,  until 
he  has  found  that  the  last  link  in  nature's  chain  is 
fastened  to  the  foot  of  Jupiter's  chair.  The  mo- 
ment she  forgets  this,  her  appropriate  province, 
by  prying  into  scenes  which  are  of  necessity  con- 
cealed from  her  view,  and  by  invalidating  truths, 
the  evidence  of  which  she  is  not  qualified  to  ap- 
preciate, instead  of  being  an  angel  of  light,  she 
becomes  at  once  emphatically  a  minister  of  dark- 


ness." 


There  is  a  philosophy  which  may  be  gloried  in. 

"  Philosophy  baptized 
In  the  pure  fountain  of  eternal  love, 
Has  eyes  indeed ;  and  viewing  all  she  sees, 
As  meant  to  indicate  a  God  to  man. 
Gives  Him  his  praise,  and  forfeits  not  her  own. 
Learning  has  borne  such  fruit  in  other  days. 


272  "^^^  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

On  all  her  branches,  Piety  has  found 
Friends  in  the  friends  of  science,  and  true  prayer 
Has  flowed  from  lips  wet  with  Castalian  dews. 
Such  was  thy  wisdom,  Newton,  childlike  sage ! 
Sagacious  reader  of  the  works  of  God, 
And  in  his  word  sagacious.     Such  too  thine, 
Milton,  whose  genius  had  angelic  wings, 
And  fed  on  manna.     And  such,  thine  in  whom 
The  British  Themis  gloried  with  just  cause. 
Immortal  Hale,  for  deep  discernment  praised, 
And  sound  integrity,  not  more  than  famed 
For  sanctity  of  manners  undefiled." 

The  desire  of  pre-eminence,  has  been  nowhere 
more  conspicuous  than  in  the  Christian  church ; 
and  may  I  not  add,  that  its  effects,  have  nowhere 
been  more  pernicious.  That  portion  of  the  in- 
spired vokime  which  supplies  the  matter  of  our 
present  meditations,  seems  to  have  been  dictated 
with  a  view  to  repress  the  already  growing  as- 
cendency of  this  mischievous  passion.  At  this 
early  period  there  existed  in  the  Corinthian  church 
party  strifes  and  emulations.  One  was  of  Paul, 
another  of  Apollos,  another  of  Cephas.  In  each 
party  there  was  a  restless  jealousy,  destructive  of 
peace.  Each  boasted  a  champion,  and  set  up  a 
head  for  itself.  Each  insisted  that  its  leader  was 
the  greatest,  and  that  its  claims  to  superiority 
were  most  undeniable.  Remark,  I  entreat  you, 
the  holy  disinterestedness  with  which  Paul  deals 
with  these  competitors  for  false  honour,  "  Where 
is  the  wise,  where  is   he  scribe,  where  is  the  dis- 


THE  LOVE  OP  SUPERIORITY.  9*^0 

puter  of  this  world  ?  Hath  not  God  made  foolish 
the  wisdom  of  this  world  ?  For  God  hath  chosen 
the  foolish  things  of  this  world  to  confound  the 
wise.  And  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of 
the  world  to  confound  the  mighty,  and  base  things 
of  the  world,  and  things  which  are  despised,  yea, 
and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to  nought 
things  that  are.  That  no  flesh  should  glory  in 
his  presence. ''''  He  shows  them  by  undeniable  proof 
that  God  needed  not  any  man's  ability  or  learning 
to  accomplish  his  work,  much  less  did  he  need  his 
arrogance  and  the  pride  of  talent.  He  would 
render  available  to  his  cause  the  simple  style,  and 
rough  oratory  of  an  humble  herald  of  the  cross, 
while  he  would  leave  to  its  own  confusion  the  vain 
philosophy, — the  science  falsely  so  called, — by 
which  ambitious  aspirants  sought  the  plaudits  of 
fame. 

The  beautiful  system  of  ministerial  equality  in 
the  primitive  church,  was  a  striking  feature  in  its 
early  constitution.  According  to  that,  he  who 
humbled  most  the  pride  and  consequence  of  self, 
who  ruled  his  own  spirit  with  most  exactness,  who 
was  first  to  undertake  labours  and  self-denials, 
and  the  last  to  claim  honours  and  applauses,  was 
with  one  voice  proclaimed  the  greatest.  Meek- 
ness was  accounted  to  him  for  magnanimity ;  gen- 
tleness was  the  manly  energy  of  his  character,  for 
a  dauntless  spirit  he  had  goodness  and  charity. 


^>^A  THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

Had  the  intentions  of  the  Saviour  been  carried 
into  execution,  there  would  have  been  no  contests 
among  his  followers,  except  for  stations  and  places 
which  afforded  the  best  opportunities  of  glorying 
in  the  Lord.  But  the  love  of  pre-eminence  show- 
ed itself  at  an  early  period.  Large  churches  were 
soon  established,  learned  pastors  were  placed  in 
charge  of  them,  and  these,  at  a  time  almost  co- 
eval with  the  apostolic  age,  began  to  take  upon 
themselves  the  right  to  dictate  to  others  in  spiri- 
tual affairs.  The  consequences  were  evils  of  no 
ordinary  magnitude,  resulting  from  the  contentions 
of  rivalship  between  opposing  bodies. 

The  fancied  superiority  based  upon  something 
either  in  the  dogmas  or  formularies  of  religion, 
may  be  witnessed,  more  or  less,  in  every  class. 
The  Papist  boasts  of  his  ancient,  venerable,  and 
Catholic  Church,  and  seems  proud  of  his  con- 
nexion with  it.  In  his  view  it  is  the  mother  church. 
The  Protestant  expatiates  upon  the  glorious  Re- 
formation, and  extols  the  noble  deeds  and  suffer- 
ings of  Christian  heroes  and  martyrs.  He  boasts 
of  Luther,  Zuinglius,  Melancthon  and  Calvin. 
It  were  better  that  he  should  glory  in  the  Lord. 
And,  then,  as  to  Protestant  denominations,  where 
and  what  are  their  boasts?  Let  us  begin  at  home. 
We  Baptists  are  not  deficient,  at  least  in  our  own 
opinion,  in  the  claims  of  superiority.  We  give 
ourselves  credit  for   maintaining,  in  its  ancient 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  o-y/r 

simplicity,  one  of  the  expressive  ordinances  of 
Christ.  We  have  stood  as  a  body,  almost  alone, 
in  contending  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints,  on  this  great  subject.  We  claim  also  the 
distinction  of  having  been  among  the  first  and 
most  strenuous  asserters  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  Surely,  then,  we  are  no  mean  sort  of 
people;  no  small  consideration  attaches  itself  to 
us.  But,  my  Baptist  brother,  enough  of  this. 
Go  and  glory  in  the  Lord. 

I  meet  next  that  respectable,  ancient,  and  de- 
vout class  of  Christians,  known  as  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church.  They  have  books  in  their 
hands,  from  which  they  read  me  many  good  les- 
sons ;  have  well-defined  articles,  a  clerical  grada- 
tion in  the  ministry,  a  divine  service,  fasts,  festi- 
vals, saints'-days,  and  many  other  things  which 
they  term  good,  and  for  which  I  must  do  them 
the  justice  to  say,  they  claim  precedence  of  all 
others. 

My  Presbyterian  brethren  look  quite  imposing 
in  their  ecclesiastical  judicatories.  In  their  midst 
is  the  constitution  of  their  church,  and  their  vene- 
rable standards.  They  are  one  of  the  sisters 
born  of  the  Reformation,  and  nurtured  in  infancy 
by  state  patronage.  Theirs  is  a  well-educated 
clergy,  an  enlightened  and  opulent  laity,  and  an 
orthodoxy  which  truth  itself  might  be  glad  to  own. 
They  have   no   doubt  that   superiority  must  be 


fyyf)  THE  LOVE  OP  SUPERIORITY. 

awarded  to  them.     I  send  them  away  from  their 
church-pride,  to  glory  in  the  Lord. 

The  Independents  are  quite  sure,  and  so  am  I, 
that  their  congregationaHsm  is  the  true  form  of 
ecclesiastical  polity ;  and  in  other  respects  they 
are  a  people  entitled  to  no  small  regard  for 
talents,  zeal  in  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel,  and 
exemplary  morality.  How  much  they  glory  in 
these  things,  I  know  not.  But  unless  they  glory 
in  the  Lord,  their  glory  is  departed. 

The  Methodists  are  a  multitudinous  people. 
They  go  forth  by  bands,  and  fill  many  habitations 
and  sanctuaries  with  willing  worshippers.  They 
praise  Mr.  Wesley  and  their  other  founders  and 
great  men.  Their  bishops,  their  conferences, 
their  itinerant  system  of  preaching,  and  the  eco- 
nomy of  their  church,  are  all  so  good,  that  I  fear 
they  may  be  tempted  to  be  proud.  I  send  them 
to  unite  with  their  senior  sister  denominations  in 
glorying  in  the  Lord. 

Secondly.  The  desire  of  superiority  in  the 
Lord,  should  be  universal.  It  is  a  most  hallowed 
feeling  which  impels  to  the  pursuit  of  greatness  in 
goodness,  which  makes  humility  the  preface  to 
honour,  and  places  the  height  of  human  happiness 
in  godliness.  That  desire  of  greatness  which  has 
been  already  considered,  is  of  the  earth,  earthy. 
The  sentiment  now  to  be  described,  is  heavenly  in 
its  origin,  the  fruit  of  moral  renovation.     Accord- 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  077 

ing  to  the  import  of  such  a  feeling,  and  to  that 
new  love  of  pre-eminence  now  to  be  unfolded,  I 
remark — 

1.  That  the  most  humble  are  the  most  exalted. 
The  doctrine  of  Christ  upon  this  subject  is  worthy 
of  attention.  His  disciples  came  to  him  saying, 
"  Master,  who  is  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven?  You  are  the  founder  of  a  kingdom. 
You  are  constructing  a  system  of  royalty,  and 
establishing  all  the  proper  gradations  of  honour. 
Who  is  to  be  the  greatest  among  your  attendants  ? 
Who  is  to  be  signalised  with  the  highest  station  of 
dignity  and  power?"  Jesus  answered  them  by  an 
action  rather  than  by  words.  He  called  a  little 
child  to  him,  and  set  him  in  the  midst.  There 
was  a  soul  in  which  earth's  ambitions  had  yet  no 
place.  Meek,  gentle,  and  unsuspecting,  the  little 
child  takes  upon  itself  the  honour  of  being  greatest ! 
"  Now,"  says  the  Saviour,  "  I  am  prepared  to  tell 
you  who  is  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Whosoever  shall  humble  himself  as  this  little 
child,  the  same  is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  Here  is  a  fair  instance  of  superiority, 
a  case  full  to  the  point.  The  humble  child  tran- 
scends all  the  rest  in  moral  magnitude.  I  see  the 
disciples  blush,  and  indicate  a  willingness  to  re- 
tract their  proud  pretensions.  Let  them  learn 
the  new  way  to  honour. 

2.  The   rule   by  which  Jesus  disposed  of  the 

24 


Oiyg  THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

question  respecting  greatness,  will  apply  to  valour 
and  fortitude.  According  to  this  rule,  the  meekest 
are  the  most  valiant,  and  the  most  merciful  and 
forgiving,  the  most  terrible  avengers.  "  Dearly 
beloved,  avenge  not  yourselves,  but  rather  give 
place  unto  wrath,  for  it  is  written.  Vengeance  is 
mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord.  Wherefore,  if 
thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him,  if  he  thirst,  give 
him  drink ;  be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome 
evil  with  good."  In  an  angry  contest,  which  if 
prosecuted,  may  put  life  in  peril,  the  magnanimity 
is  his  who  first  mitigates  the  strife.  The  true 
courage  is  his,  who  sets  the  first  example  of  con- 
cession, and  foregoes  revenge.  He  is  the  avenger 
who  suffers ;  he  the  wielder  of  invincible  weapons 
who  possesses  his  soul  in  patience  and  equanimity; 
he  comes  off  with  the  victor's  crown  who  rules 
into  subjection  his  own  spirit,  and  permits  the 
blast  of  the  terrible  ones  to  spend  itself  in  idle  up- 
roar. To  fall  on  one's  face  at  the  approach  of  an 
infuriated  beast,  is  sometimes  a  safe  expedient. 
By  such  an  expedient,  the  fury  of  man  is  frequently 
disarmed,  and  rendered  wholly  harmless.  Let  it 
not  be  thought  that  this  is  mean-spiritedness. 
More  courage  is  required  to  endure  injuries  than 
to  resent  them.  The  valour  of  real  proof  is  found 
in  the  peaceful  and  forbearing  action  of  the  true 
Christian,  who  surpasses  all  others  in  manly  forti- 
tude.    He  is  gentle  in  form  and  demeanour,  but 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  ^79 

his  heart  is  great,  and  his  spirit  noble.  He  is  a 
dove  with  an  eagle's  heart,  mild  as  innocence,  but 
fearless  and  generous  as  oft-tried  heroism. 

In  the  example  of  his  divine  Master,  the  Chris- 
tian has  a  lively  picture  of  blended  meekness  and 
generosity.  "  Many  a  life  he  preserved,  but  none 
did  ever  destroy.  Only  one  poor  fig  tree  was 
blasted  and  withered  by  his  curse,  an  emblem  of 
his  severity  to  the  unfruitful.  To  man,  he  was 
ever  favourable  and  indulgent,  so  repelled  as  he 
was,  so  reviled,  so  persecuted,  sold,  betrayed,  ap- 
prehended, arraigned,  condemned,  crucified,  yet 
what  one  man  did  he  ever  strike  for  ihese  heinous 
indignities?  How  can  we  sufiiciently  love  and 
imitate  his  mercy,  and  beneficence !" 

3.  By  the  same  rule  we  ascertain  that  the  ex- 
penditure of  life  and  substance,  is  the  true  way  to 
immortal  wealth.  If  life  were  only  a  present  good, 
and  if  all  its  interests  were  concentrated  here, 
then  the  expenditure  of  its  powers  upon  extraneous 
objects,  would  be  foolishness  But  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  life  which  now  is,  compared  with 
endless  duration,  is  no  more  than  a  point,  no  more 
than  an  atom  compared  with  the  universe,  viewed 
in  connexion  with  that  life  which  is  to  come,  then 
every  question  relating  to  it,  must  be  referred  to  that 
hereafter^  in  which  the  capacities  and  powers 
that  compose  it,  must  find  at  last  a  consumma- 
tion.   Prudence  will  ask,  what  is  the  interest  of 


2gQ  THE  LOVE  OP  SUPERIORITY. 

the  whole  being,  and  will  little  regard  the  mere 
part.  It  will  turn  away  from  the  ephemeral  clay, 
and  fix  its  regards  upon  the  deathless  spirit.  On 
this  subject  the  Saviour  announces  the  following 
doctrine,  "  He  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it, 
and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find 
it."  The  same  declaration  is  thrice  repeated  in 
so  many  Evangelists,  as  if  the  divine  teacher  in- 
tended to  confer  the  whole  sanction  of  his  autho- 
rity upon  this  momentous  doctrine. 

For,  who  is  truly  the  poor  man,  and  who  the 
rich  man?  I  place  before  you  two  cases  and 
leave  you  to  judge  for  yourselves. 

The  one  is  the  devoted  child  of  this  world, 
who  has  drawn  around  him  all  the  requisite  minis- 
trations to  the  wants  and  luxuries  of  his  being. 
His  health  enables  him  to  enjoy  the  sweet  juices 
of  flesh,  of  fish,  of  fruits.  His  cultivated  taste 
detects  new  and  exquisite  sources  of  delight  in 
the  garniture  of  fields  and  landscapes ;  and  in  the 
dread  magnificence  of  heaven.  The  charm  of 
each  varying  season  is  his.  When  the  great 
summoner  approaches  him  with  a  citation  to  ap- 
pear in  yonder  world,  I  see  him  shrink  back,  I 
hear  him  utter  his  reluctance — "  Thou  fair  earth, 
how  shall  I  leave  thee,  and  exchange  thy  sweets 
for  a  dread  unknown?  Ye  flowers  of  Spring, 
and  glories  of  Summer,  and  fruits  of  Autumn, 
and  delights  of  Winter,  you  are  all  I  have,  all  I 


N 


THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY.  281 

wish  or  want.  I  would  cling  to  you  for  ever.  Let 
me  not  be  torn  from  all  I  love,  from  all  I  own." 

Do  you  call  this  man  rich?  Where  are  now  his 
possessions  ?  He  has  been  saving  his  life,  taking 
care  of  his  health,  multiplying  the  means  of  ra- 
tional enjoyment,  living  temperately  enough,  and 
irreproachably,  in  the  judgment  of  the  world.  He 
has  succeeded  in  consulting  well  the  present  de- 
mands of  being.  He  has  preserved  his  body 
from  the  influence  of  inhospitable  elements.  His 
eye  has  met  every  where  the  most  agreeable 
colours,  his  ear  the  sweetest  music,  his  palate  the 
best  meats  and  drinks ;  and  all  his  wants  an  in- 
stant supply.  But  being  now  about  to  pass  into  a 
new  existence,  where  all  the  objects  that  minister 
to  this  life's  enjoyment  shall  drop  for  ever  their 
functions  and  uses,  he  becomes  at  once  the  poorest 
being  that  imagination  can  picture. 

The  other  case,  is  that  of  one  who  also  loved, 
but  not  supremely,  the  advantages  and  satisfac- 
tions of  the  present  life.  The  blossoms  and 
sweets  of  the  vernal  season  were  grateful  to  him. 
The  herds  and  flocks  fed  by  Summer's  pasturage 
were  also  pleasing  accessions  to  his  delight.  And 
he  too  heard  the  stern  mandate  of  the  inexorable 
summoner.  How  did  he  receive  the  intelligence  ? 
What  were  the  feelings  of  his  mind,  when  inform- 
ed that  all  the  inlets  to  temporal  enjoyment  were 
soon  to  be  closed  for  ever.    Hear,  O  my  soul,  the 

24* 


OgO  THE  LOVE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 

rapture  of  confidence  with  which  he  met  the  un- 
sparing sentence :  "  Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not 
blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the  vines :  the  la- 
bour of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields  shall  yield 
no  meat ;  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold,  and 
there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls  :  yet  I  will  re- 
joice in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  sal- 
vation. The  Lord  God  is  my  strength,  and  he 
will  make  my  feet  like  hinds'  feet,  and  he  will 
make  me  to  walk  upon  mine  high  places." 


SERMON   XV.* 


DANGERS  TO  WHICH  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  ARE 

EXPOSED. 


1  Cor.  X.  12. — Wherefore  let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed 

lest  he  fall. 


The  fiercest  rage  of  the  tempest  usually  falls 
upon  the  tallest  trees  of  the  forest.  Whilst 
the  cedars  of  Lebanon  are  strained  to  the  very 
root  and  threatened  with  destruction,  the  humble 
ivy  creeps  securely  upon  the  wall,  and  evades  the 
fury  of  the  merciless  blast.  In  like  manner,  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel  are  exposed  to  perils  of  a  more 
menacing  character  than  those  which  await  ordi- 
nary Christians.  They  are  more  tempted  with 
caresses  and  scandals,  more  enchanted  with  popu- 
lar applause,  and  more  assaulted  with  the  shafts 
of  calumny  than  other  men.  In  every  path  that 
they  traverse,  snares  are  planted  for  them.  Trem- 
bling is  mingled  with  all  their  joys.     The  hazy 

*  An  ordination  sermon. 


OaA  DANGERS  TO  WHICH  MINISTERS 

mists  of  disappointment  hang  about  all  their  hopes. 
Care  ruffles  their  serenest  moments,  and  their 
brightest  anticipations  for  this  life,  are  dimmed  by 
the  sad  suffusion  of  tears.  If  successful,  they  are 
liable  to  self-confidence ;  if  popular,  they  are  ex- 
posed to  pride  and  petulance ;  if  endowed  with  pre- 
eminent abilities,  they  are  in  danger  of  becoming 
imperious  and  arrogant.  If  they  stand  too  high, 
they  become  giddy ;  and  if  too  low,  they  sink  into 
dejection  of  spirits.  The  smile  of  men  is  tainted 
with  death,  their  frown  brings  the  gloom  of  de- 
pression. 

I.  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  in  danger  of  sad 
declension  in  personal  piety.  They  have  so  much 
concern  in  cultivating  the  vineyard  of  others,  as  to 
be  often  tempted  to  neglect  their  own.  They  are 
laid  under  obligations  to  follow  up  religion  as  a 
profession.  It  is  their  vocation, — their  constant 
business  and  employment — the  one  pursuit  which 
must  engross  their  chief  attention.  May  they  not 
become  more  professional  than  experimental; 
more  studious  of  the  outward  manner,  than  of  the 
inward  grace ;  more  solicitous  for  a  good  appear- 
ance, than  for  a  good  conscience ;  more  concern- 
ed about  success,  than  about  sanctity  ?  The  con- 
stant handling  of  holy  things  does  not  necessarily 
render  men  holy.  We  may  be  busied  about  reli- 
gion, and  not  be  imbued  with  its  spirit.  We  may 
make  fluent  speeches  for  God,  whilst  our  hearts 


OF  THE  GOSPEL  ARE  EXPOSED.  285 

are  not  warmed  with  his  love.  The  simple  fact 
that  we  make  piety  our  occupation,  and  press  our 
thoughts  into  the  study  of  sacred  things,  may  be 
a  snare  to  draw  us  into  a  cold,  remiss  conversation. 
It  would  be  a  deplorable  case  for  the  husbandman 
never  to  partake  of  the  fruits  which  his  own  toil 
and  anxiety  produce.  Much  more  deplorable 
is  it  for  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  to  come  short  of 
the  enjoyment  of  those  comforts  of  grace  and  truth 
which  he  imparts  to  others.  It  is  painful  to  think 
that  personal  piety  is  too  rare  a  thing  even  among 
ministers  of  the  Gospel ;  but  however  painful  the 
thought  may  be,  it  is  one  which  forces  itself  upon 
us.  Facts  of  an  indubitable  character  evince  it. 
The  worldly  tempers,  the  grovelling  passions,  the 
keen  covetousness,  the  angry  strifes  and  debates, 
which  we  encounter  among  many  who  should 
wear  about  them  the  very  garments  of  salvation, 
are  incontestable  proofs  of  the  absence  of  personal 
piety.  Ministering  brethren,  let  us  cultivate  a 
higher  tone  of  piety.  We  call  upon  ourselves,  and 
we  call  upon  you,  for  a  more  exemplary  devoted- 
ness  to  the  cause  of  our  divine  Master.  Let  us 
make  it  our  first  care  to  keep  our  hearts  right,  to 
stand  upon  the  elevation  of  graces,  rather  than 
upon  that  of  gifts,  to  court  the  smiles  of  the  Spirit, 
rather  than  the  plaudits  of  men. 

II.  The  respectability  of  their  office  is  perilous 
to  the  rigid  virtue  of  ministers.    The  world,  it  is 


2gA  DANGERS  TO  WHICH  MINISTERS 

true,  hates  religion  and  all  its  advocates ;  but  there 
is,  nevertheless,  in  the  present  day,  a  large  por- 
tion of  all  communities  ready  to  accord  a  favour- 
able reception  to  religious  characters.  Among 
such,  ministers  can  alvi^ays  find  an  honourable 
place.  They  have  a  ready  admission  to  the  best 
society,  and  there,  are  distinguished  with  that  re- 
spect and  confidence  which  are  given  to  its  most 
deserving  members.  Flattered  and  admired,  they 
are  in  danger  of  being  soothed  by  caresses,  and  of 
falling  into  self-complacency.  They  are  tempted 
to  use  that  very  religion  which  is  not  of  this 
world,  as  a  passport  to  popular  applause,  and  a 
stepping-stone  to  worldly  influence  and  advance- 
ment. How  many  have  split  upon  this  rock? 
How  many  have  sunk,  with  their  gay  streamers 
which  had  floated  in  the  breeze,  to  rise  no  more? 
HI.  A  snare  of  the  most  insidious  nature  may 
be  found  in  politics.  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  are 
too  ofl;en  tempted  to  interfere  in  those  discussions 
which  relate  merely  to  secular  affairs.  Their  in- 
fluence in  society,  their  general  intelligence,  and 
the  supposed  probity  of  their  opinions  and  views, 
all  conspire  to  betray  them  into  political  specula- 
tions. Their  opinions,  when  once  expressed,  must 
be  defended,  the  party  which  they  may  happen  to 
favour,  must  be  vindicated,  the  conjectures  which 
they  hazard,  must  be  corroborated  by  facts,  and 
thus  they  fall  almost  imperceptibly  into  the  idle 


OF  THE  GOSPEL  ARE  EXPOSED.  ^87 

janglings  of  disputation.  Of  all  controversies, 
political  ones  are  the  least  profitable.  They 
separate  chief  friends,  embroil  brethren  with 
each  other,  and  throw  into  the  very  bosom  of 
society  a  firebrand  that  inflames  the  whole  body. 
Ministers  who  meddle  with  such  contentions, 
generally  cease  to  be  useful.  Their  minds  are 
fretted  with  ambition  and  envy,  they  habituate 
themselves  to  acrimony  and  invective  in  their  ob- 
servations upon  their  opponents,  they  lose  the 
unction  of  piety,  and  become  more  watchful  about 
candidates  and  offices,  than  for  those  souls  for 
which  they  must  give  an  account.  Few  dangers 
are  more  to  be  deprecated,  than  those  which 
arise  from  this  source.  How  many  promising 
men  have  had  their  usefulness  almost  wholly 
destroyed  by  their  needless  intrusion  into  political 
matters?  How  many  have  been  swallowed  up 
in  the  vortex  of  worldly  struggles  and  competi- 
tions ? 

IV.  Standing  forth  as  the  accredited  expositors 
of  a  divine  religion,  ministers  of  the  Gospel  are 
in  danger  of  falling  into  the  commission  of  much 
sin,  by  suppressing  certain  parte  of  the  truth. 
We  will  endeavour  to  make  ourselves  understood 
by  the  supposition  of  several  cases.  It  is  their 
well  known  duty  to  direct  the  attention  of  parents 
to  the  right  education  of  their  children,  to  incul- 
cate upon  them  as  heads  of  families,  the  princi- 


OQQ  DANGERS  TO  WHICH  MINISTERS 

pies  of  parental  discipline ;  to  require  them  under 
the  most  awful  sanctions  of  Christianity,  to  bring 
up  their  offspring,  "  in  the  nurture  and  admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord ;"  to  set  before  them  an  example 
of  patience,  humility,  and  godly  fear;  and  to  ap- 
pear, as  far  as  practicable,  exemplifying  the  truth 
which  they  profess.  But  should  ministers  them- 
selves be  glaringly  deficient  in  these  respects, 
with  what  face  could  they  reprove  others  for  their 
deficiencies  ?  Should  their  own  families  be  aban- 
doned to  neglect,  or  what  is  worse,  to  an  irregu- 
lar, loose  training,  so  that  the  worst  examples  of 
profligacy  appear  in  their  own  houses,  with  what 
show  of  consistency  could  they  expose  the  laxity 
and  criminal  indifference  of  others  in  the  bringing 
up  of  their  children  ?  Therefore,  you  will  not 
hear  a  preacher  who  is  a  negligent  disciplinarian 
in  his  own  family,  ever  say  much  on  this  delicate 
topic.  He  generally  passes  it  over  in  silence. 
He  is  afraid  to  attack  the  guilty  on  that  point,  at 
which  he  himself  is  most  vulnerable.  Perhaps 
he  excuses  his  conscience  by  secretly  persuading 
himself  that  there  is  no  need  for  urging  upon  the 
attention  of  his  hearers  such  subjects;  that  it 
savours  of  legality  to  be  preaching  about  disci- 
pline, and  morality,  and  duty. 

Those  teachers  of  religion  who  fail  to  fill  the 
domestic  circle  with  the  mild  and  amiable  virtues 
which  the  Gospel  inculcates,  and  who  carry  it  with 


OP  THE  GOSPEL  ARE  EXPOSED.  oftQ 

moroseness,  petulance  and  ill-nature  towards  their 
wives  and  children,  thus  rendering  their  own 
houses  scenes  of  contention  and  blustering  strife, 
will  not  find  it  convenient  often  to  quote  such  por- 
tions of  Scripture  as,  "  Husbands,  love  your  wives 
and  be  not  bitter  against  them.  Parents  provoke 
not  your  children  to  wrath,  but  bring  them  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord."  On  the 
other  hand  they  will  find  it  exceedingly  conveni- 
ent to  glide  over  those  exhortations  which  recom- 
mend the  kindling  and  perpetuating  of  a  fire  on 
the  family  altar,  which  enjoin  the  reciprocal  duties 
of  the  different  members  of  families,  and  encou- 
rage the  cultivation  of  domestic  religion. 

The  public  teachers  of  religion  are  required  to 
warn  mankind  against  covetousness,  to  call  off  the 
attention  of  God's  people  from  deceitful  riches, 
and  the  heart-indurating  prosecution  of  gain. 
The  minister  who  is  greedy  of  filthy  lucre  will 
not  touch  this  subject.  The  covetous  who  serve 
the  world  with  a  sort  of  self-devotion,  and  from 
whose  hearts  the  last  principle  of  piety  is  eaten 
out  by  the  corrosions  of  worldliness,  will  not  be 
disturbed  by  him.  His  shafts  will  fly  over  the 
head  of  soul-withered  professors,  and  all  his  artil- 
lery will  explode  in  harmless  thunder. 

Ministers  who  have  worldly  business  to  trans- 
act, and  none  are  exempt  from  it,  are  in  danger  of 
contracting  obligations  which  they  are  afterwards 

25 


290  DANGERS  TO  WHICH  MINISTERS 

unable  to  execute.     They  thus  have  their  miiK^s 
distracted  with  debt,  and  their  resources  taxed 
beyond  the  possibiHty  of  endurance  or  extrication. 
Under  such  circumstances,  how  are  they  to  preach 
from  such  a  text  as  that  of  "  Owe  no  man  any 
thing,"  or,  "  Render  unto  all  their  dues  ?"     How 
are  they  to  twinge  the  consciousness  of  guilty  de- 
linquents, and  urge  upon  their  hearers  the  prompt 
and  faithful  performance  of  all  their  promises? 
The   remembrance   of  their  own  case  will  gall 
them  every  time  they  think  of  distributive  justice. 
Their  own  offences  against  the  laws  of  punctuality 
and   contract,   will   haunt   them   in   every  effort 
which  they  may  make  to  bring  others  to  their 
duty.     It  will   hence   become   conformable  with 
their  feelings  never  to  meddle  with  such  matters, 
but  to  leave  them  all  to  the  regular  course  of 
things. 

The  minister  of  Christ  who  glides  into  the  ne- 
glect of  personal  piety,  who  becomes  unfrequent 
and  remiss  in  secret  devotion,  omits  secret  prayer 
and  the  rigid  examination  of  his  heart  and  life, 
will  make  but  a  poor  monitor  to  those  in  a  condi- 
tion similar  to  his  own.  How  can  he  apply  the 
stimulant  of  biting  reproof  to  those  who  are  no 
more  negligent  than  himself?  How  can  he  feel 
and  depict  their  wretchedness,  when  he  is  a 
stranger  to  his  own  ?  O  how  important  is  it  for 
us  to  bear  the  lively  impress  of  every  truth  that 


OF  THE  GOSPEL  ARE  EXPOSED.  OQI 

we  preach !  The  first  art  in  divine  oratory  is  the 
art  of  being  holy.  The  surest  guide  to  the  ge- 
nuine glory  of  eloquence,  is  a  good  conscience 
and  a  well-regulated  heart.  Without  these  no 
man  can  ever  be  a  successful  pleader  in  the  cause 
of  God» 


SERMON  XVI. 

THE  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  A  GOOD  MAN. 
Acts  xi.  24. — He  was  a  good  man. 

This  honourable  attestation  came  directly  from 
the  unerring  voice  of  inspiration,  and,  therefore, 
cannot  be  questioned,  either  as  to  its  general 
truth,  or  the  propriety  of  its  individual  application. 
It  is  the  judgment  of  character  formed  by  Him 
who  is  a  God  of  knowledge,  and  by  whom  ac- 
tions are  weighed,  and  not  received  according  to 
the  specious  colourings  of  outward  excellence. 
For,  in  estimating  character,  and  in  deciding 
questions,  either  as  to  the  extent  or  genuineness 
of  human  merit,  the  judgment  of  God  proceeds 
upon  principles  very  different  from  those  which 
form  a  test  among  men.  The  former  respects 
the  heart  which  has  been  wrought  into  humility 
and  contrition,  and  extends  pity  to  involun- 
tary flaws  of  conduct;  whilst  the  latter  usually 
overlook  the  indications  of  hone.st  integrity,  and 
wage  a  war  of  unrelenting  severity  against  every 


THE  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  A  GOOD  MAN.  293 

visible  infirmity.  Hence  it  happens  that  the  ap- 
probation of  God  is  an  attainment  far  less  difficult 
than  that  of  men.  For  whilst  they  look  upon  the 
outward  appearance,  He  looks  upon  the  heart; 
whilst  they  charge  every  obliquity  of  life  to  crimi- 
nal turpitude,  He  justifies  from  heinous  guilt,  the 
most  unworthy;  whilst  they  form  and  reverse 
judgments.  He  is  the  immutable  friend  of  all 
times  and  of  all  places,  never  forsaking  those 
whom  he  loves,  nor  varying  the  conduct  of  his 
merciful  providence. 

We  too  often  find  in  the  world  an  estimate  of 
character,  which  is  at  once  fallacious  and  hurtful. 
The  virtue  of  not  being  as  abandoned  as  others,  a 
few  acts  of  imposing  generosity,  some  occasional 
displays  of  nominal  goodness  are  sufficient  to  gain 
for  a  man  the  exalted  distinction  of  "good"  in 
the  view  of  many.  But  did  these  objects  of  spu- 
rious suffrage  for  a  moment  recollect  that  the 
world  is  as  deceitful  in  its  applauses,  as  it  is  mis- 
taken in  its  judgments ;  that  the  kind  of  merit 
which  captivates  the  multitude  is  not  that  humble 
virtue  which  stamps  a  price  upon  the  soul  in  the 
sight  of  God ;  that  Fame  has  her  whisper  as  well 
as  her  trumpet,  and  that  the  decisions  of  the  last 
day  will  be  attended  with  no  circumstance  -more 
surprising  than  the  total  rejection  of  all  the  claims 
founded  upon  worldly  approbation,  they  would 
not  so  readily  listen  to  a  treacherous  commenda- 

25* 


294 


THE  aUALIFICATIONS  OF 


tion  which  may  have  an  influence  in  shielding 
them  from  the  salutary  censures  of  God's  holy 
word.  In  truth,  to  be  a  good  man  is  no  ordinary 
distinction.  It  is  a  dignity  which  connects  man 
with  both  worlds,  which  removes  far  from  him 
every  thing  base  and  sordid,  fills  his  temporal 
space  with  usefulness,  and  occupies  the  period  of 
his  probation  with  works  which  shall  impart  a 
true  glory  to  his  name.  It  is  not  the  gain  of 
every  adventurer  who  would  present  himself  as  a 
candidate  for  its  honours,  but  the  fruit  of  painful 
toil  and  self-denying  exertions. 

We  must  not,  however,  connect  goodness  with 
absolute  perfection.  The  mere  man  is  yet  to  be 
found  whose  character  exhibits  no  defect ;  and  he 
who  says  he  has  no  sin,  must  look  out  for  very 
serious  perils  to  his  veracity,  when  the  severer 
tests  come  to  be  applied  to  his  virtues.  For, 
though  we  should  admit,  that  no  trial  in  his  past 
history  had,  in  the  least,  bent  his  soul  from  its 
well  established  integrity,  yet  as  he  cannot  fore- 
see the  mass  of  contingencies  which  lie  in  his 
path,  he  may  still  presume  that  aberration  from 
the  right  way  is  a  possible  case,  and  that  a  new 
series  of  trials  may  bring  to  notice  undiscovered 
features  of  sin  and  infirmity.  Who  can  under- 
stand his  faults  and  errors  ?  Who  can  penetrate 
the  hidden  sources  of  evil  in  his  own  heart? 
Who  is  he  that  can  extend  his  scrutinising  glance 


A  GOOD  MAN.  295 

to  those  inmost  foldings  of  his  spirit,  where  self- 
love  checks  inquiry  and  treachery  eludes  faithful 
examination  ? 

Our  review  of  human  worth  must,  therefore, 
be  always  adjusted  to  that  scale  of  moderation, 
which  the  frailty  of  sinful  beings  points  out  as  the 
only  correct  standard ;   and  whilst  we  indulge  the 
respect  which  is  due  to  superior  goodness,  we 
must  not  forget  that  a  man  can  receive  nothing 
except  it  be  given  him  from  Heaven.    Life,  in  this 
sublunary  scene,  is  not  the  serenity  of  skies  un- 
spotted by  a  cloud ;  nor  the  calm  of  a  state  un- 
ruffled by  blasts  of  temptation,  but  rather  the 
gloom  of  a  firmament,  broken  at  intervals  with 
the   overpowering    light   of  a   distant   sun,   and 
blending   its   shades   of  sorrow   and   joy.      The 
picture  which  a  good  man  gives  of  himself  is 
often  painful  and  dispiriting ;  because  in  his  dates 
and  notices  he  keeps  a  true  register,  and  the 
cloudy  days  are  recorded  as  well  as  those  which 
smiled  with  a  brighter  ray.     Introduced  to  the 
contemplation  of  his  character,  we  discover  an 
assemblage  of  contrarieties  at  which  we  may  at 
first  be  confounded ;  but  a  little  more  insight  into 
his   history   will   remove    all   our    astonishment. 
We  shall  soon  see  that  the  conflict  of  opposites  is 
nothing  less  than  the  struggles  of  a  new  nature 
against  the  old  man  ;  that  "  his  discontent  is  his 
immortality,"  and  his  grief  nothing  less  than  his 


296  THE  aUALIFICATIONS  OF 

grandeur.  In  the  good  man  the  heart  is  bent  to 
a  given  law,  and  made  to  yield  to  the  proportions 
of  a  new  and  holy  principle.  Strained  and  forced 
as  it  must  be  in  leaving  its  old  direction,  it  is  not 
wonderful  that  the  strong  cords  which  confined  it 
should  be  broken,  and  that  it  should  often  exhibit 
a  mysterious  aspect  to  the  world. 

In  pursuing  our  meditations  on  this  subject  we 
shall  show,  First,  that  there  is  a  rule  which  de- 
termines and  proves  the  authenticity  of  the  cha- 
racter in  question ;  and.  Secondly,  we  shall  exa- 
mine some  of  the  supposed  exceptions  to  this  rule, 
and  afterwards  make  some  improvement. 

First  :  The  first  indications  of  real  goodness 
must  be  sought  in  the  apprehensions  which  a  man 
forms  of  himself.  Perverted  and  defiled  as  our 
whole  race  is  by  the  evil  influence  of  a  fallen 
nature,  the  earliest  promise  of  a  favourable  change 
must  be  expected  in  the  mind's  exercises  in  view- 
ing itself.  The  heart  must  know  its  bitterness, 
the  sin-infocted  spirit  must  know  the  plague  which 
overspreads  it,  and  begin  to  feel  the  salutary  grief 
of  penitence,  before  we  can  look  for  much  good. 
Hence  it  is,  that  in  his  first  movements,  the  good 
man  appears  to  himself  to  have  become  suddenly 
and  inexpressibly  vile.  All  the  favourable  im- 
pressions which  he  had  previously  entertained  of 
his  own  character  are  effaced  ;  the  supposed  rec- 
titude of  his  past  conduct  appears  like  a  fiction  of 


A  GOOD  MAN.  OQiy 

his  own  brain,  and  he  wonders  at  the  security  in 
which  he  could  have  reposed,  to  the  neglect  of 
God,  of  eternity,  and  its  awful  interests.  In- 
stead of  growing  better  he  now  seems  to  struggle 
under  the  pressure  of  deeper  malignity  of  guilt. 
The  fountain^  of  latent  corruption  are  broken 
open;  sins  individually,  and  sins  blended  with 
countless  involutions,  pass  under  his  trembling 
review,  till  he  is  almost  made  to  think  that  all 
evil  is  concentrated  in  his  wicked  heart.  The 
law  which  he  had  thought  was  the  minister  of 
life,  he  now  finds  to  be  the  minister  of  death ;  the 
commandment  comes,  but  instead  of  finding  in  it 
the  expected  relief,  it  seems  only  to  resuscitate 
the  slumbering  powers  of  undiscovered  sin  and 
iniquity.  Let  it  not  be  thought  that  in  this  early 
discipline  of  sorrow  the  good  man  experiences 
any  thing  strange  or  uncommon.  His  experience, 
however  surprising  to  himself,  may  be  traced  and 
identified  in  the  history  of  Job,  of  David,  and  of 
Paul.  In  these  distinguished  examples  of  grace, 
he  finds  that  self-abhorrence  which  repels  in  a 
moment  every  offer  of  arrogance,  and  pours  con- 
tempt upon  the  pride  of  nature  and  reason.  These 
holy  men  saw  the  first  beams  of  hope  and  blessed- 
ness amid  the  sorrows  of  repentance.  Their  early 
acquaintance  with  the  evils,  which  the  poison  of 
sin  had  infused  into  their  nature,  led  them  to  the 
prompt   and   decided    rejection  of  every   claim 


298  THE  aUALIFICATIONS  OF 

which  might  be  founded  upon  their  supposed 
goodness.  Theirs  was  the  wisdom  to  know  that 
if  any  thing  great  or  good  ever  marked  their 
character,  it  must  spring  from  a  purer  source 
than  their  hearts,  and  rise  higher  than  their 
merits. 

Among  the  objects  of  complacence  which  the 
Lord  selects,  stands  pre-eminent  the  broken  and 
contrite  spirit.  Into  this  he  conveys  the  oil  of 
joy,  occupies  it  as  his  special  residence,  honours  it 
with  an  acceptance  far  beyond  the  most  expensive 
oblations,  and  guards  it  as  his  sacred  enclosure. 
And  must  not  that  be  good  in  which  God  takes 
pleasure?  Does  not  his  divine  and  piercing  eye 
survey  the  incipient  traces  of  an  excellence  which 
grows  into  strength  and  beauty  amidst  apparent 
darkness  and  confusion  ?  Can  he  not  see  in  the 
throb  of  every  sorrow  that  the  penitent  honours 
his  law,  and  reflects  the  glory  of  his  compassion  ? 

We  may  expect  unaffected  goodness  from  him 
whose  heart  is  thus  prepared  by  the  convictions  of 
inherent  wretchedness.  He  cannot  be  of  a  resent- 
ful temper ;  because  the  judgment  of  his  own  heart 
has  anticipated  the  reproaches  of  men,  and  the 
consciousness  of  his  guilt  disarms  his  indignation 
at  the  injuries  which  others  may  offer  to  his  cha- 
racter or  his  interest.  Knowing  that  he  might 
have  remained  for  ever  under  the  condemnation 
of  a  righteous  law,  he  cannot  find  it  in  his  heart 


A  GOOD  MAN.  ono 

to  indulge  a  spirit  of  censoriousness  and  malevo- 
lence. With  a  knowledge  of  his  own  extreme 
misery  and  sin,  he  presumes  what  must  be  the 
condition  of  others,  and  therefore  advances  with 
an  eye  of  pity  and  a  hand  of  relief  to  afford  them 
assistance,  and  to  impart  the  same  alleviations 
which  gave  a  check  to  his  trouble.  He  learns  to 
love  his  fellow-men,  by  the  example  of  that  love 
which  the  merciful  Saviour  extended  to  him,  and 
concludes  that  if  Christ  could  love  him  with  such 
intensity  of  affection  as  to  die  for  him  and  the 
world,  he  surely  ought  to  love  them  for  whom  he 
thus  died.  Hence  the  good  man  turns  his  grati- 
tude into  arguments,  and  his  arguments  into  a 
ready  compliance  with  duty. 

The  Saviour  of  men  holds  a  high  and  distin- 
guished place  in  the  heart  of  the  good  man.  To 
him  Christ  is  all  and  in  all.  His  release  from 
sin,  his  introduction  to  a  new  and  holy  life,  all 
his  hopes  and  comforts  in  the  view  of  an  eternal 
world,  are  derived  from  the  God-man,  the  great 
Mediator.  Without  this  high  and  holy  estimation 
of  Jesus,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  be  a  good  man  in 
any  sense,  and  wholly  impossible  to  be  so  in  the 
sublime  sense  of  Scripture.  The  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  divinity,  the  belief  of  his  atoning  sacri- 
fice for  sin,  the  perception  of  his  saving  grace  and 
healing  mercy  are  essential  to  the  formation  of 
the  character  under  consideration.     For  without 


^QQ  THE  aUALIFICATlONS  OF 

the  Redeemer's  expiation,  sin  remains  the  terror 
and  the  bondage  of  the  soul.  No  generous  ef- 
forts of  self-denying  obedience  can  ever  be  ex- 
pected from  those  who  view  themselves  irrecover- 
ably lost  by  their  transgressions ;  who  yield  to  all 
the  dark  forebodings  of  despair,  and  can  never 
take  any  steps  either  to  conciliate  the  good  will 
of  a  being  whom  they  view  as  infinitely  above 
them,  or  to  deprecate  a  wrath  which  inexorable 
justice  renders  inevitable. 

The  good  man  rejoices  in  the  success  of  truth 
and  in  the  extension  of  goodness.  The  cordiality 
of  his  affection  for  the  Gospel  cannot  be  disguised ; 
for  he  beholds  in  it  the  remedy  of  sin,  and  the 
balm  of  sorrow  :  he  reads  in  it  the  obvious  signa- 
tures of  Deity,  and  hears  from  every  whisper  of 
inspiration  the  sound  of  mercy.  Thus  it  was  with 
Barnabas;  when  he  saw  the  effects  of  the  Saviour's 
doctrines,  the  adamant  of  unbelieving  hearts 
yielding  to  the  terms  of  salvation,  cities,  where 
dismal  rites  of  debasing  superstition  had  held  their 
empire,  bowing  down  to  the  peaceful  reign  of  the 
pure  and  holy  religion  of  the  cross,  "  He  was 
glad,  and  exhorted  them  all,  that  with  purpose  of 
heart  they  would  cleave  unto  the  Lord."  This  is 
the  spontaneous  expression  of  a  heart  in  unison 
with  good  things,  the  earnest  devotion  of  a  spirit 
formed  to  the  love  of  those  things  which  are  ho- 
nest, lovely  and  of  good  report. 


A  GOOD  MAN.  OQ| 

The  good  man  is  the  companion  of  all  them 
that  fear  the  Lord.  Does  he  hear  the  moans  of 
penitence  from  the  pensive  heart  of  some  distant 
and  solitary  wanderer?  He  is  acquainted  with 
the  sound,  and  instantly  feels  that  the  ohject  from 
which  it  emanates  is  his  brother.  His  heart  melts 
into  tenderness,  and  he  assumes  the  case  as  his 
own,  tracing  and  identifying  his  own  experience 
in  the  struggles  of  one  who  groans  under  the 
pressure  of  conscious  guilt.  Is  he  called  to  wit- 
ness the^  afflictions  of  the  righteous  in  a  world 
where  virtue  weeps  and  licentiousness  exults  ? 
He  transfers  their  sufferings  to  himself,  and 
chooses  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people 
of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a 
season.  To  him  the  reproach  of  Christ  is  greater 
riches  than  the  treasures  of  the  world.  Does  he 
witness  the  zeal  of  those  ardent  sons  of  piety  who 
have  resolved  all  their  interest  into  the  sublime 
passion  of  doing  good  to  their  fellow-men?  They 
are  the  props  of  his  tottering  faith,  the  incentives 
to  his  holy  exertions,  the  advocates  which  plead 
his  cause  before  a  perverse  generation.  Does  he 
hear  of  the  infirmities  of  those  whom  he  accounts 
his  brethren,  that  they  have  been  overtaken  in  a 
fault;  that  unhappy  imputations  have  been  cast 
upon  the  common  cause  through  their  follies  and 
imperfections  ?  These  are  awful  monitors  to  him. 
From  the  ruin  in  which  they  have  merged  their 

26 


QQ2  THE  aUALIFICATIONS  OF 

character  and  sunk  their  honest  fame,  he  hears  a 
warning  voice  which  speaks  of  danger  nigh,  utters 
the  brief  history  of  those  who  have  incurred  the 
shame  and  guilt  of  a  grievous  fall. 

He  has  his  share  of  affliction ;  for  what  son  is 
he  whom  the  Father  chasteneth  not  ?  Cares  of 
awful  magnitude,  and  apprehensions  dark  with 
direful  import  crowd  upon  him,  and  assault  his 
peace.  But  religion  has  raised  him  above  their 
malignant  control,  and  all  their  tumult  breaks, 
like  harmless  thunders,  at  his  feet.  The  world  to 
come  engrosses  all  his  thoughts,  and  gives  a  fire 
to  his  aspirations  which  the  damps  of  nature  can- 
not extinguish.  It  is  not  the  idle  chase  of  false 
felicity,  not  the  painted  phantom  of  momentary 
bliss,  not  the  fruit  ripened  by  that  solar  ray  which 
shall  be  extinguished  in  nature's  general  ruin,  nor 
all  the  splendour  of  worldly  opulence,  that  can 
attract  his  high  regard.  His  virtues  are  not 
soured  by  austerity,  his  life  is  not  broken  into 
hideous  gaps,  but  forms  an  even  tenor  ;  his  heart 
needs  not  the  covering  of  insidious  reserve,  but  is 
most  loved  in  its  naked  candour.  Such  is  the 
good  man.  Let  us  emulate  his  virtues,  and  strive 
to  be  like  him.  His  character  is  instructive,  his 
'  example  full  of  light,  his  end  full  of  immortality. 
But  let  us  be  cautious,  in  the  second  place,  to  de- 
fend him  against  some  supposed  exceptions : — 

1st.  The  first  exception  which  we  shall  notice, 


A  GOOD  MAN. 


303 


originates  in  the  necessity  which  detains  the  good 
man  in  the  world.  His  preparation  for  another 
world,  does  not  raise  him  beyond  the  wants  of  this ; 
nor  does  his  relish  for  heavenly  food,  annihilate 
the  capacity  of  tempora-1  enjoyment.  He  must, 
therefore,  plant  and  build,  buy  and  sell,  plan  and 
execute,  and  mingle  in  the  throng  of  the  men  of 
this  generation,  who  limit  their  hopes  and  works 
to  the  present  life.  His  right  to  do  all  this  is  not 
called  in  question,  nor  do  any  for  a  moment  deny 
him  the  immunities  which  civil  institutions  supply. 
But,  for  the  man  of  the  skies,  whose  soul  breathes 
a  heavenly  air,  and  whose  hope  expatiates  in  the 
brightness  of  a  better  life,  to  be  seen  in  those  se- 
cular avocations,  which,  in  their  fairest  form,  are 
grovelling,  compared  with  immortality,  is  sufficient 
to  lower  his  claims,  to  remove  the  charm  of  eleva- 
tion from  his  character,  and  to  give  a  pretext  to 
the  world  for  considering  him  no  better  than  them- 
selves. This,  however,  is  a  pretext  only.  For  by 
what  order  of  things  could  it  have  been  otherwise  ? 
Would  it  have  been  a  wise  arrangement  for  the 
good  man  to  be  translated  to  his  native  heaven  so 
soon  as  his  title  thereto  was  established?  In 
that  case,  all  the  power  of  his  example,  and  all 
the  benefit  of  his  conversation  with  men  must 
have  been  lost.  His  virtues  in  that  case  w^ould 
have  wanted  the  maturity  and  lustre  which  the 
tests  of  a  probationary  state  can  alone  impart,  and 


QQ^  THE  aUALIFICATIONS  OF 

his  goodness  must  have  appeared  less  meritorious, 
because  less  tried  by  the  collisions  of  an  opposing 
power.  It  was  not  the  Saviour's  prayer  that  his 
people  should  be  taken  out  of  the  world,  but  that 
they  should  be  preserved  from  its  evil.  They 
have  an  appointed  time ;  a  course  of  duties  to 
perform,  of  sufferings  to  undergo,  the  purposes  of 
their  Lord  to  fulfil,  and  the  beauty  of  holiness  to 
exemplify.  Instead,  therefore,  of  suffering  any 
diminution  in  the  authority  and  gravity  of  their 
name,  because  they  are  pilgrims  and  sojourners 
in  the  world,  they  ought  rather  to  be  admired  for 
that  exalted  quality  by  which  they  are  able  to 
stoop  from  their  eminence,  and  not  be  degraded, 
to  pass  through  the  furnace,  and  not  be  consumed, 
to  toil  in  the  corruptions  of  this  world,  and  not 
be  contaminated. 

2.  The  goodness  which  is  merely  nominal,  often 
approaches  so  near  a  resemblance  to  that  which 
is  genuine,  as  to  induce  many  to  think  that  there 
is  none  real  and  unsophisticated.  Disappointment 
is  apt  to  render  men  sceptical.  The  tree  from 
which  you  have  often  sought  fruit,  but  have  found 
none,  is  condemned  as  barren  and  unproductive, 
and  not  that  individual  tree  only,  but  all  its  species 
fall  under  suspicion.  We  are  naturally  apt  to 
proceed  with  doubt  and  caution  in  all  those  cases 
where  we  have  suffered  deception.  Deceitful 
embers  may  lie  concealed  under  the  incumbent 


A  GOOD  MAN.  onff 

ashes  which  invite  the  tread  of  the  unwary ;  but 
will  inflict  a  certain  smart.  He  who  has  once 
suffered  from  such  treachery,  will  be  careful  how 
he  comes  again  into  a  similar  danger,  since  by  a 
strong  association,  ashes  will  remind  him  of  latent 
fire.  He  who  has  been  pierced  with  a  thorn  in 
grasping  a  flower,  will  naturally  suspect  the  next 
flower  he  meets,  and  will  seize  it  with  caution. 
But  does  it  follow,  in  the  course  of  nature,  that 
because  one  tree  is  spurious,  that  every  one  of 
its  kind  is  false  ?  Does  it  follow,  as  a  necessary 
consequence,  that  because  embers  and  ashes  are 
sometimes  associated,  they  are  never  distinct? 
Must  it  be  concluded  that  because  one  flower 
contained  a  thorn,  every  one  is  the  covering  of  an 
insidious  goad  ?  On  the  contrary,  the  very  fact 
of  a  counterfeit  demonstrates  the  existence  of  that 
which  is  real  and  genuine;  the  shadow  proves  the 
substance;  the  copy,  however  imperfect  as  a 
transcript,  shows  the  existence  of  an  original. 
It  is  admitted,  that  formal  and  superficial  religion 
has  done  much  to  injure  the  credit  of  that  which 
is  cordial ;  suspicion  and  captiousness  will  exert 
an  unhappy  influence  in  examining  the  pretensions 
of  those  who  appear  blended  in  the  general  mass. 
The  honest  sons  of  a  faith  that  disdains  all  dis- 
simulation, must  take  their  lot  in  the  world  among 
those  whose  arts  and  impositions  have  screened 
them  from   exposure,  and   not   unfrequently  the 

26^ 


QQg  THE  aUALIFICATIONS  OF 

judgment  of  the  world  assigns  a  higher  character 
to  him  whose  dexterous  hypocrisy  has  well  sus- 
tained his  part,  than  to  the  plain  unvarnished  life, 
which,  being  conscious  of  no  disguise,  fears  no  im- 
putations. Who  can  tell  how  difficult  the  task  is 
to  take  forth  the  precious  from  the  vile ;  to  draw 
the  lines  of  character  so  strong  and  deep,  that  the 
deceiver  and  hypocrite  may  read  their  doom,  and 
the  spirit  of  the  contrite  may  be  revived?  What 
boldness  and  penetration  does  it  require  to  take 
from  specious  deception  its  borrowed  attractions, 
and  exhibit  its  deformity  to  the  detestation  of 
men  ?  In  the  day  of  final  accounts  it  must  stand 
as  an  aggravation  of  the  hypocrite's  wo,  that  his 
wretched  arts  were  detrimental  to  the  credit  and 
usefulness  of  the  good  man,  that  his  counterfeit 
religion  brought  into  disrepute  that  which  was 
truly  good,  and  that  the  influence  of  piety  and  good- 
ness was  laid  under  the  impediment  of  an  awful 
deterioration,  by  the  sophistry  of  his  thousand 
arts,  and  the  depth  of  his  sly  duplicity. 

3.  The  remaining  sins  of  a  good  man  are  re- 
garded by  some  as  an  insurmountable  objection  to 
the  integrity  of  his  heart,  and  the  consistency  of 
his  conduct.  That  true  goodness  may  consist 
with  much  imperfection,  that  piety  may  be  asso- 
ciated with  weakness,  and  that  sin,  under  some  of 
its  modifications,  does  reside  in  the  renewed  heart, 
is,  we  believe,  a  general  concession  among  Chris- 


A  GOOD  MAN.  ^07 

tians.     But  as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  in- 
dweUing  malady,  the  consent  is  not  so  general, 
some  allowing  it  a  latitude  greater,  and  some  less, 
according  to  their  respective  modes  of  explaining 
Scripture.     On  this  point  we  select  a  single  pas- 
sage, which   deserves   attention,  not  merely  for 
controversy  and  speculation,  but  for  its  deep  ex- 
perimental character.     It  occurs  in  the  seventh 
chapter  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans :  "  For 
we  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual ;  but  I  am  carnal, 
sold  under  sin.    For  that  which  I  do,  I  allow  not : 
for  what  I  would,  that  do  I  not ;  but  what  I  hate, 
that  do  I.     If  then  I  do  that  which  I  would  not, 
I  consent  unto  the  law  that  it  is  good.   Now  then, 
it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in 
me.     For  I  know  that  in  me,  (that  is,  in  my  flesh,) 
dwelleth  no  good  thing :  for  to  will  is  present  with 
me ;  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good,  I  find 
not.     For  the  good  that  I  would,  I  do  not ;  but 
the  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do.    I  find  then 
a  law,  that  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present 
wdth  me.     For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after 
the  inward  man."     The  first  question  which  arises 
upon  this  celebrated  passage  is,  Did  the  Apostle 
speak  this  of  himself,  or  of  some  other  man?     Of 
some  other  man,  say  many  expositors,  both  an- 
cient and  modern.     Of  himself,  say  many  exposi- 
tors, both  ancient  and  modern.     Thus  the  autho- 
rity of  commentators,  distinguished  alike  for  piety 


OQO  THE  aUALlFICATIONS  OF 

and  learning,  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  question, 
and  we  are  left  to  form  our  own  judgment.  Should 
it  appear  that  the  Apostle  personates  the  point 
under  discussion,  and  does  not  make  his  own  ex- 
perience responsible  for  the  declarations  here 
made,  then  it  is  no  longer  a  case  to  which  the 
good  man  may  appeal  for  his  vindication,  under 
the  disquieting  consciousness  of  remaining  sin. 
But  should  it  appear  that  he  appropriates  to  him- 
self the  views  expressed,  and  that  he  employs  no 
rhetorical  artifice  to  cover  an  obnoxious  represen- 
tation, then  the  humble  believer  may  still  retain 
his  confidence  of  faith  and  hope,  notwithstanding 
the  burden  of  evil  which  lies  upon  his  groaning 
penitent  heart.  We  are  fully  persuaded  that  the 
Apostle  utters  the  language  of  his  own  experience ; 
because  the  custom  of  personating  is  very  rare 
with  him,  and  never  introduced  without  an  obvious 
reason,  which  cannot  be  seen  in  the  instance  under 
consideration;  because  those  who  advocate  the 
idea  of  his  speaking  under  an  assumed  character, 
are  not  agreed  what,  or  who  that  character  is ; 
because  the  strong  language  which  he  employs, 
"  as  carnal  and  sold  under  sin,"  may,  without  any 
violence,  comport  with  the  feelings  of  a  heart 
which  abhors  and  rejects  every  kind  of  sin ;  be- 
cause the  delight  in  the  law  of  God  which  he  ex- 
presses, is  a  pleasure  of  the  most  vigorous  and 
vivid  kind,  and  could  only  be  felt  by  one  whose 


A  GOOD  MAN.  ^QQ 

spirit  had  been  trained  to  holy  conceptions ;  and, 
finally,  because  the  language  is  well  suited  to  the 
conflicts,  agitations  and  dejection  of  all  Christian 
experience.  If  we  have  not  placed  an  erroneous 
construction  upon  the  Scripture  above  discussed, 
then  the  fact  of  much  indweUing  corruption  must 
not  be  alleged  in  extenuation  of  the  good  man's 
claims.  He  must  be  permitted  still  to  hold  the 
distinction  which  we  have  claimed  for  him.  The 
light  under  which  he  lives,  is  brightening  into  a 
more  perfect  day ;  the  tenderness  of  his  early  vir- 
tues is  yielding  to  maturity  and  wisdom ;  the  strife 
of  warring  elements  is  subsiding  into  repose ;  the 
long-delayed  rapture  is  beginning  to  swell  his  bo- 
som, and  the  day  of  his  redemption  draws  nigh. 


SERMON  XVII. 

AGE    ADMONISHING    YOUTH. 
Psalms  xxxvii.  25. — I  have  been  young,  and  now  am  old. 

When  you  are  solicited  to  renounce  the  levities 
of  youth,  and  to  embrace,  during  your  tender  age, 
the  sober  comforts  of  true  religion,  you  are  apt  to 
reply  to  us,  That  we  forget  that  we  were  ever 
young, — that  we  cannot  make  suitable  allowances 
for  the  feelings  and  predilections  of  youth, — and 
that  we  would  impose  upon  you  the  grievous  bur- 
dens of  an  austere  and  repulsive  profession.  You 
seem  to  suspect,  that  we  cannot  enter  into  your 
peculiar  attachments  and  associations, — that  we 
cannot  go  back  to  the  period  of  juvenile  freshness 
and  ardour, — and  that  we  are  therefore  very  in- 
competent judges  of  what  may  be  most  suitable  to 
your  habits  and  inclinations.  But  may  we  not  say 
to  you,  each  for  himself,  in  the  words  of  David, 
"  /  too  have  been  young  V  I  have  passed  that 
way  which  your  heedless  feet  are  now  pressing — 


AGE  ADMONISHING  YOUTH.  2\\ 

I  am  acquainted  with  all  its  extravagant  views 
and  conceptions,  with  its  florid  visions  and  im- 
practicable schemes,  with  its  high-soaring  hopes 
and  calculations ;  and  I  should,  therefore,  be  ad- 
mitted to  a  calm  and  patient  hearing.  Besides 
this,  my  heart  is  not  so  hard,  as  to  be  insensible 
to  the  indulgence  claimed  by  youth.  I  have  no 
wish  to  draw  the  clouds  of  premature  gloominess 
over  your  bright  morning,  nor  to  suppress  the  ge- 
nerous sallies  of  youthful  affection.  It  can  afford 
me  no  pleasure  to  hang  upon  your  buoyant  spirits 
the  needless  gravities  of  seclusion  and  mortifica- 
tion. But  as  I  have  been  young  and  now  am  old, 
you  may  safely  listen  to  my  warning  voice,  and 
follow  up  the  course  of  life  which  experience 
points  out  as  the  best,  and  which  should  be  mine, 
had  I  my  days  to  pass  over  again  amid  these  sub- 
lunary scenes. 

If  this  be  the  temper  in  which  Age  comes  for- 
ward to  address  you,  it  may  be  presumed  that  you 
will  lend  it  your  prompt  and  serious  attention, 
whilst  it  reminds  you, 

1.  Of  your  inexperience.  Almost  every  thing 
with  you,  is  yet  untried.  The  little  amount  of 
truth  by  which  your  future  course  is  to  be  regu- 
lated, has  yet  to  be  bought  by  sad  experience. 
You  are  thus  destined  to  pay  a  large  price  for  a 
small  commodity ;  to  barter  happiness,  mental 
quietude,  and  probably  reputation  too,  for  a  scanty 


Q-IO  AGE  ADMONISHING  YOUTH. 

portion  of  wisdom,  which  when  obtained  may  still 
leave  you  unfurnished  for  many  of  the  great  pur- 
poses and  occasions  of  life.  Your  power  to  meet 
a  treacherous  world  has  not  yet  been  proved ;  the 
armour  in  which  you  trust,  in  going  forth  against 
the  gigantic  force  arrayed  against  you,  has  not  yet 
been  brought  to  the  test.  You  have  made  no 
proof  of  your  ability  to  resist  in  open  combat,  nor 
of  your  skill  to  shun  the  sly  ambuscade,  nor  of  your 
patience  to  endure  the  lengthened  toils  of  the  long 
campaign.  As  yet  you  are  unpractised  in  the 
ways  of  men,  and  stand  in  the  unwariness  of  an 
unsuspecting  heart.  It  is  painful  to  apprehend 
the  result  of  those  trials  through  which  you  have 
to  pass ;  to  think  of  the  fearful  odds  of  power  en- 
gaged against  you.  Your  inexperience,  however, 
may  be  remedied  by  one  thing,  and  that  is  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.  It  brings  at  once  and  lays  be- 
fore you  the  matured  results  of  the  greatest  and 
best  experience ;  it  presents  as  a  free  gift,  what 
otherwise  you  would  have  to  attempt  the  attain- 
ment of,  at  a  dreadful  expense,  and  in  the  attain- 
ment of  which  you  would  surely  fail.  It  lays  at 
once  before  you  the  wisdom  "  which  is  better  than 
rubies,  and  all  things  which  you  may  desire  are 
not  to  be  compared  unto  her  ;  length  of  days  is  in 
her  right  hand,  and  in  her  left  hand  riches  and 
honour.  Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and 
all  her  paths  are  peace."     If  you  wish  to  be  edu- 


AGE  ADMONISHING  YOUTH.  Qi  Q 

cated  at  once  for  all  goodness,  for  all  honour  and 
happiness,  bow  your  hearts  without  delay  to  the 
holy  requirements  of  the  blessed  Saviour.  Your 
inexperience  then  will  be  no  impediment  to  your 
peace,  either  for  time  or  eternity. 

2.  Having  passed  the  scenes  in  which  you 
now  are,  Age  can  the  better  estimate  your  peri- 
lous circumstances.  Along  the  way  which  you 
must  go,  snares  are  planted.  A  murderous  band 
lies  in  wait  for  you,  and  only  delays  the  meditated 
attack  until  you  are  placed  within  their  power. 
The  world  upon  which  you  are  launched,  is  full  of 
dangerous  currents,  and  unfathomed  depths.  Self- 
flattered,  and  high  in  hope,  you  have  commenced 
the  voyage  with  gay  streamers,  and  are  now  fondly 
dreaming  that  each  wind  is  your  friend,  to  waft 
you  on  to  the  desired  port  of  happiness ;  and  that 
each  sun  and  star  rise  but  to  light  you  on  to  the 
fair  calm  of  a  distant  clime.  Remember,  how- 
ever, that  many  have  sunk  into  the  abyss  over 
which  you  are  now  sailing.  Many  others  who 
probably  began  the  voyage  with  you,  have  been 
already  driven  wide  of  hope.  They  are  descend- 
ing into  the  unexplored  vortex. 

"  O'er  them  and  o'er  their  names  the  billows  close ; 
To-morrow  knows  not  they  were  ever  born." 

You  are  in  danger  from  yourselves,  containing  as 
you  do  within  you,  the  very  elements  of  ruin.     A 

27 


31  ^  AGE  ADMONISHING  YOUTH. 

heart  "  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately 
wicked,"  lies  embosomed  in  the  retired  chambers 
of  your  nature.     It  is  an  ill-persuading  adviser,  a 
seductive  flatterer,  trusted  only  by  fools  and  mad- 
men.    You  are  in  danger  from  others.     Yes,  my 
sons,  sinners  will  entice  you.  They  are  now  busied 
in  spreading  out  to  entangle  you  the  enchantments 
of  pleasure ;  in  mixing  the  intoxicating  draught ; 
in  preparing  the  way  to  ruin.     See  how  smooth 
and  gentle  they  make  the  declivity  down  which 
you  are  to  descend  !   They  have  arranged  at  pro- 
per intervals  steps  upon  which  you  may  pause,  lest 
you  should  be  shocked  by  the  suddenness  of  a  de- 
scent without  any  gradations.      If  you  falter  upon 
the  first  step,  they  will  deride  your  inexperience ; 
and  you,  to  be  as  brave  as  any  of  them,  will  begin 
to  feel  ashamed  of  your  virtue.    Even  the  Roman 
satirist   perceived  and  affirmed,  that   "  No  one 
suddenly   becomes  very  abandoned."      And   an 
apostle  has  said,  "  Evil  communications  corrupt 
good  manners."     You  are  in  danger  from  false 
science  and  the  pride  of  intellect.     True  science 
can  never   corrupt  men.     It  is  the  spurious  thing 
miscalled  knowledge,  the  right  name  of  which  is 
sophistry,  that  perverts  and    bewilders   youthful 
minds.     But  you  may  think  that  you  know  much, 
when  in  truth  you  know  comparatively  nothing. 
The  observation,  though  often  made,  is  not  too 
trite  to  be  repeated,  That  in  our  first  progress  in 


AGE  ADMONISHING  YOUTH. 


315 


knowledge,  we  resemble  the  growing  corn,  which 
when  crude  and  green,  shoots  up  and  stands  erect, 
but  when  ripe  and  fit  for  use,  reclines  its  head  in 
the  modest  droopings  of  humility.  The  awful 
truth  must  not  be  omitted,  that  your  precious  souls 
are  in  danger.  Death,  as  well  as  life,  is  set  be- 
fore you ;  and  your  natural  inclination  leads  to  the 
former.  Your  souls  are  then  in  danger  of  being 
lost.  The  danger  is  now  greatest,  because  the 
characters  which  you  now  form  will  probably  ac- 
company you  through  life  and  in  death.  Let  the 
consideration,  that  your  souls  are  in  danger,  rouse 
you  to  a  deep  and  lasting  seriousness.  Whether 
you  are  to  be  saved  or  lost,  reserved  for  glory  and 
honour,  or  for  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever ; 
whether  you  are  to  fill  a  happy  space  among  God^s 
worshipping  saints,  or  whether  it  were  better  for 
you  never  to  have  been  born,  are  doubts,  the  solu- 
tion of  which  greatly  depends  upon  the  determi- 
nations and  resolutions  of  the  present  time. 

3.  Many  hearts  are  now  burdened  with  deep 
care  for  you.  It  is  not  so  with  those  who  are 
advanced  in  life,  and  who  are  descending  the 
cheerless  valley  of  age.  There  are  not  many  to 
care  for  them.  They  have  survived  the  severance 
of  youthful  connexions,  and  the  extinction  of  ear- 
lier friendships.  As  they  proceed  step  by  step, 
the  number  of  those  who  care  for  them  is  gradu- 
ally diminished,  until  they  often  arrive  at  a  point 


Qt  g  AGE  ADMONISHING  YOUTH. 

where  they  seem  to  stand  alone  in  the  great  and 
busy  world.  The  lovers  and  friends  of  former 
days  are  consigned  to  darkness,  and  the  feelings 
and  sympathies  of  the  present  time  scarcely  em- 
brace them.  With  you  the  case  is  different. 
Many  hearts  throb  with  a  deep  and  generous 
anxiety  for  you.  First  of  all,  your  parents  bear 
an  anxious  concern  for  you.  Before  long,  they 
must  leave  you  amid  the  perils  of  a  world  which 
they  have  found  by  no  means  friendly  to  human 
virtue  or  happiness.  They  know  full  well  that  no 
provision  which  they  can  make  for  you  will  be  of 
any  avail,  unless  your  hearts  are  enriched  with  di- 
vine grace.  They  feel  a  painful  apprehension 
that  you  may  soon  cast  off  the  restraints  of  pa- 
rental discipline,  turn  from  the  right  ways  of  the 
Lord,  and  be  found  walking  in  the  counsel  of  the 
ungodly,  or  standing  in  the  way  of  sinners,  or  sit- 
ting in  the  seat  of  the  scornful.  They  know,  too, 
that  an  evil  heart  and  an  evil  world  are  both 
against  you,  and  that  nothing  but  God's  gracious 
interference  can  save  you  from  the  effects  of  their 
combined  malignity.  On  this  account  they  groan 
with  a  burdensome  care  for  you — a  care  which 
follows  them  to  the  latest  hour  of  life.  When 
stretched  upon  the  bed  of  death,  they  call  you 
about  them  to  receive  their  last  blessing,  care  for 
you  almost  makes  them  forget  their  dying  pangs. 
If  a  reasonable  hope,  that  you  should  be  found  or- 


AGE  ADMONISHING  YOUTH.  3^7 

dering  your  conversation  aright  after  they  are 
dead,  should  possess  their  hearts  at  such  a  crisis, 
what  a  calm  would  spread  over  the  ruffled  scene ! 
In  such  a  case  they  would  bid  adieu  to  you  in  the 
confident  expectation  of  a  meeting  at  no  distant 
period.  The  keen  edge  of  the  parting  conflict 
would  be  blunted,  and  a  holy,  assausive  balm  of 
peace  would  sweetly  soothe  the  grief  of  separation. 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the  church  cares 
for  you,  and  cherishes  the  pleasing  belief  that  you 
are  the  hope  of  the  flock.  Its  present  numbers 
are  constantly  lessened  by  dekth ;  and  soon  a  dis- 
mal vacuity  must  appear,  to  increase  the  desola- 
tion of  Zion,  unless  the  youthful  portions  of  the 
congregation  should  be  turned  to  the  Lord.  Yes, 
my  young  friends,  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ 
waits  to  welcome  you  to  her  bosom,  to  perform 
for  you  the  tender  office  of  a  nursing  mother — and 
to  enrol  your  names  upon  the  annals  of  that  long 
succession  which  shall  come  up  to  praise  God 
when  we  are  dead. 

4.  Age  may  justly  remind  you  of  the  value  of 
youth.  It  is  the  season  when  the  yielding  heart 
expands  itself  to  all  the  influences  with  which  it 
may  be  environed.  When  nature  looks  fresh  and 
young,  and  the  tide  of  being  flows  on  in  the  strength 
of  a  youthful  current, — it  is  that  vernal  season 
when  cultivation  first  begins,  and  the  bud  of  pro- 
mise is  bursting  into  the  fair  blossom,  and  the 

27* 


318  AGE  ADMONISHING   YOUTH. 

prepared  fields  are  rearing  the  hopes  of  the  future 
harvest,  and  the  rejoicing  spirit  of  man  responds 
to  the  melody  that  echoes  to  the  music  of  nature. 
— How  often  do  you  hear  from  Age  such  excla- 
mations as  these, — Had  I  my  time  to  live  over 
again,  I  would  lead  a  very  different  life  from  that 
which  I  have  led.  I  would  better  husband  the 
precious  opportunities  which  are  now  lost  for  ever. 
How  much  invaluable  time  have  I  lavished  upon 
trifles  which  were  worse  than  vain!  What  habits 
of  sin  and  folly  have  taken  inveterate  hold  of  my 
corrupt  nature,  and  how  hard  do  I  find  it  to  resist 
the  custom  of  sin !  Would  that  I  had  been  re- 
strained in  my  youth,  and  that  my  erring  feet  had 
been  sooner  directed  to  the  ways  of  the  Lord ! 
It  is  in  such  language  that  you  often  hear  vented 
the  unavailing  regrets  of  Age.  It  is  for  you  to 
shun  the  evils  which  you  thus  hear  deplored,  to 
rouse  all  your  powers  to  the  blessed  service  of 
your  heavenly  Father,  who  says  to  each  one  of 
you,  "  I  have  heard  thee  in  an  accepted  time,  and 
in  the  day  of  salvation  have  I  succoured  thee : 
Behold  now  is  the  accepted  time,  and  now  is  the 
day  of  salvation." 

5.  But  the  most  affecting  portion  of  the  address 
of  Age  to  Youth  is  that  which  relates  to  the  ap- 
proaching separation  betwixt  them.  We  must 
soon  leave  you,  and  we  wish  to  leave  you  in  the 
Lord.     We  shall  die  easy,  if  we  can  see  you  pre- 


AGE  ADMONISHING  YOUTH.  gig 

pared  to  fill  up  the  places  which  we  must  soon 
leave  empty.  It  will  materially  mitigate  the  appre- 
hension of  our  final  agony,  to  believe  that  you  will 
come  around  us,  adoring  and  worshipping  that 
Saviour  into  whose  hands  we  shall  commit  our 
spirits.  If  we  can  leave  you  in  the  Lord,  we  shall 
feel  an  assurance  that  you  are  well  provided  for, 
that  you  have  a  patrimony  which  can  never  fail — 
friends  that  will  never  prove  treacherous — a  home 
which  will  always  be  cheered  by  unfailing  conso- 
lations. 


SERMON    XVIII, 

JOY    IN   THE   GOD    OF    SALVATION. 

Hab.  iii.  17,  18. — Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall 
fruit  be  in  the  vine ;  the  labour  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields 
shall  yield  no  meat;  the  flock  shall  be  cut  oflf  from  the  fold,  and 
there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls :  yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord, 
I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation. 

t 

We  must  not  imagine  that  heaven  consists 
merely  in  the  emigration  of  the  soul  to  some  dis- 
tant and  unexplored  region,  nor  yet  in  its  transla- 
tion from  abodes  of  pain  and  uncertainty,  to 
climes  of  undisturbed  bliss  and  reality ;  but 
rather,  that  it  results  from  the  capacity  of  the 
soul  to  take  pleasure  in  God.  The  error  of 
placing  the  felicity  of  the  righteous  at  an  immense 
distance,  and  considering  it  as  differing  in  essence 
from  all  that  is  felt  in  the  present  life,  is  more 
general  and  more  hurtful  than  will  be  at  first 
admitted.  It  is  through  the  prevalence  of  this 
delusion,  that  those  who  have  had  only  superficial 
views  and  experiences  in  religion,  can  persuade 


JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OF  SALVATION.  oo  I 

themselves  that  their  state  may  be  good,  and  their 
hopes  well  founded.  For,  whilst  they  are  con- 
scious of  the  absence  of  that  joy  which  the  favour 
and  presence  of  God  must  impart,  they  console 
themselves  under  this  manifest  deficiency,  by 
recurring  to  the  long-cherished  error,  that  heaven 
is  an  untasted  delight.  Accordingly,  they  are 
contented  to  live  in  the  utter  destitution  of  that 
spiritual  happiness  which  they  consider  an  im- 
practicable attainment,  whilst  in  the  body.  They 
indolently  surrender  themselves  to  the  influence 
of  whatever  is  adverse  to  experimental  piety,  and 
regard  all  the  present  feelings  of  Christian  satis- 
faction a^  a  presumptuous  anticipation  of  a  future 
prerogative.  To  them,  religion  would  appear 
gloomy  and  solitary,  if  it  were  disjoined  from  the 
enjoyments  of  sense,  and  the  cheering  aspect  of 
this  world.  The  conclusion  in  which  they  rest  is, 
that  although  the  spirit  should  have  had  no  joyful 
intercourse  with  heaven  during  its  residence  in 
the  body,  yet,  as  soon  as  it  enters  the  scenes  of 
eternity,  it  must  be  in  an  instant  accommodated 
to  the  amazing  dimensions  of  its  new  habitation, 
and  suited  to  the  exercises  of  a  state  wholly  fo- 
reign to  its  former  pursuits. 

This  dangerous  mistake  results,  in  a  great  de- 
gree, from  the  influence  of  that  fallacious  hope 
which  induces  men  to  expect  a  joy,  they  know  not 
what,  on  their  separation  from  the  body;    and 


Q22  JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OP  SALVATION. 

though  it  is  sustained  by  no  sensible  and  consis- 
tent impressions  of  present  comfort,  they  account 
for  their  incapacity  to  be  happy  in  religion,  from 
their  preconceived  opinion  of  the  remoteness  of 
heaven.  Under  such  a  persuasion,  they  are  at  no 
pains  to  obtain  realising  assurances,  are  under  no 
disquietude  from  their  unproductive  profession, 
are  prompted  to  little  or  nothing  of  that  self-in- 
spection by  which  the  godly  try  themselves,  are 
strangers  to  the  anguish  which  results  from  the 
hidings  of  God's  countenance,  are  invulnerable  to 
the  piercing  arrows  of  the  Almighty,  and  secured 
in  the  slumbers  which  have  been  invited  by  a  false 
view  of  religious  joy.  It  is  allowed  that  "  eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  pro- 
vided for  them  who  love  him ;"  yet  it  must  be  main- 
tained, that  faith  is  able  to  afford  a  "joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory ;"  that  it  is  not  so  much 
place  as  capacity  that  constitutes  heaven;  and 
that  the  final  glory  of  saints  will  be  only  the  per- 
fection of  that  spiritual  capacity,  which  has  its 
rudiments  in  this  life,  for  receiving  pleasure  from 
communion  with  God. 

The  words  of  the  text  furnish  a  lively  view  of 
that  sacred  pleasure  which  a  pious  man  can  re- 
ceive from  the  presence  of  God,  and  the  security 
of  his  salvation.  It  is  here  we  see  the  believers' 
power  to  be  happy  in  spite  of  all  the  oppressions 


JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OF  SALVATION.  QOO 

of  bodily  want,  and  amidst  the  desolations  of 
nature.  In  like  manner  we  should  be  prepared 
in  the  most  signal  prostration  of  our  earthly 
hopes,  to  exult  in  God  ;  and  grasp  those  joys,  the 
chief  recommendation  of  which  is,  that  they  are 
wholly  purified  from  all  the  mixtures  of  earthly 
delight.  For  although  neither  drought  nor  any 
other  disaster  should  frustrate  the  hopes  of  the 
husbandman,  so  as  to  present  an  arid  waste,  in- 
stead of  fruitful  fields  and  golden  harvests,  yet  it 
is  certain,  that  to  us  who  now  live,  the  verdure  of 
the  fields  and  the  splendour  of  the  heavens  must 
be  shortly  arrayed  in  blackness.  To  the  eye  dim 
with  age,  the  fig-tree  loses  its  beauty  ;  and  to  the 
taste  vitiated  with  disease,  the  cluster  loses  its 
sweetness.  And  to  him  who  descends  to  the  val- 
ley of  the  shadow  of  death,  all  the  visible  proper- 
ties of  nature  are  rendered  equally  incapable  of 
giving  comfort.  To  him  all  the  avenues  leading 
to  the  enjoyment  of  sense  are  for  ever  closed. 
The  light  of  day  ceases  to  cheer  him,  the  tones  of 
melody  reach  not  that  spirit  which  is  no  longer 
accessible  to  its  charms.  The  whole  medium  by 
which  the  soul  held  communications  with  this 
lower  wbrld,  is  benumbed  with  cold  apathy,  while 
restless  and  dependent  it  enters  the  invisible 
world. 

We  should  be  hence  led  to  scrutinise  our  quali- 
fications for  enjoyment  in  the  God  of  salvation, 


324  -"^^  ^^  "^HE  GOD  OF  SALVATION. 

since  we  shall  soon  be  shut  out  from  all  that  gives 
enjoyment  to  our  sensitive  existence.  This  serious 
examination  of  ourselves  will  appear  more  neces- 
sary, if  we  allow  due  influence  to  the  considera- 
tion, that  many  of  those  who  wear  the  external 
garb  of  religion,  could  not  be  rendered  more 
miserable  than  to  be  excluded  from  every  other 
source  of  happiness  but  their  religion.  This  is 
no  substitute  to  them  for  earthly  pleasures,  no 
compensation  for  the  loss  of  secular  enjoyments ; 
and  the  place  which  should  furnish  access  to  no- 
thing else,  would  be  deemed  a  most  unwelcome 
solitude. 

But  let  us  remember  that  notwithstanding  this, 
there  is  to  be  found  in  the  Lord  a  happiness, 
which  the  sudden  extinction  of  all  created  good 
could  not  vary  nor  diminish.  The  prerequisites 
to  this  happiness,  we  shall  now  consider — 

1.  To  be  joyful  in  the  Lord,  there  must  be  a 
sweet  accordance  betwixt  his  spirit  and  ours. 

An  agreement  of  nature  is  necessary  to  the 
happiness  of  those  who  must  dwell  together;  for 
what  joy  can  exist  in  a  state  of  variance  and  strife  ? 
What  grateful  quietude  can  take  place  amidst  the 
agitations  of  perpetual  hostility?  The  men  of 
the  world  do  not  consent  to  the  ways  of  God; 
they  are  equally  averse  to  the  dispensation  of  his 
grace,  and  the  administration  of  his  justice ;  to 
the  holiness  of  his  character,  and  the  rectitude  of 


JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OF  SALVATION.  005 

his  government ;  to  the  purity  of  the  law,  and  the 
sanctity  of  the  Gospel.  Can  two  walk  together 
except  they  be  agreed  ?  No  object,  all  the  attri- 
butes of  which  are  repulsive  to  every  principle  of 
our  nature,  can  yield  us  pleasure;  and  perhaps 
no  greater  torture  could  be  imagined,  than  to  be 
confined  exclusively  to  such.  The  material  crea- 
tion is  in  some  measure  suited  to  the  residence  of 
fallen  creatures.  Its  parts  are  so  constructed  as 
to  convey  agreeable  impressions  to  all  our  senses. 
But  it  is  possible  to  imagine  a  different  construc- 
tion; and  to  suppose  that  every  pleasing  quality 
of  nature  were  reversed,  that  its  wide  extent  was 
only  an  aggregate  of  properties  repugnant  to  all 
the  laws  of  our  constitution,  that  the  lustre  of  the 
sun  imparted  a  horror  inexpressible  to  our  inmost 
souls,  that  the  flowers  and  fruits  of  the  earth 
were  nauseating  to  our  taste,  that  sympathy  had 
no  lenitives,  friendship  no  endearments,  and  beauty 
no  attractions.  The  supposed  inversion  in  the  ob- 
jects of  natural  pleasure,  becomes  real  in  refer- 
ence to  the  spiritual  world.  The  animal  man  has 
no  taste  for  the  joys  of  heaven.  The  Sun  which 
shines  there,  would  strike  amazing  terror  to  his 
soul,  by  the  excessive  purity  of  his  rays ;  the  fruit 
from  the  tree  of  life  would  sicken  instead  of  heal. 
According  to  Milton,  the  idea  of  singing  "  forced 
hallelujahs  to  the  Godhead,"  was  more  intolerable 

28 


00(5  "'^"^  ^^  "^"^  ^°^  ^^  SALVATION. 

to  the  fallen  angels  than  the  fiery  lake  on  which 
they  lay  extended. 

If,  therefore,  there  is  any  felicity  in  the  presence 
of  God,  that  agreement  of  our  nature  with  the  di- 
vine, which  was  lost  by  original  guilt,  must  be  re- 
stored. In  the  conversion  of  the  soul  this  spiritual 
concord  begins.  It  is  then  we  yield  to  the  influ- 
ences of  the  Spirit,  desist  from  our  rebellion,  sur- 
render to  the  control  of  the  Lord,  consent  to  the 
excellency  of  his  law,  and  concur  in  all  his  me- 
thods of  mercy.  In  such  an  assimilation  of  na- 
ture to  the  image  of  Christ,  we  must  be  sensible 
of  a  peculiar  joy.  It  will  be  our  happiness  to  fol- 
low where  he  leads,  to  practise  what  he  com- 
mands, and  to  visit  the  place  of  his  abode.  Like 
Enoch,  we  may  walk  with  God ;  like  Moses,  pre- 
fer the  afflictions  of  his  people  to  the  pleasures  of 
sin,  and  like  Job,  trust  in  him  though  he  slay  us. 
We  shall  not  ask  the  world  to  help  us  to  be 
happy,  nor  shall  we  dread  its  power  to  inflict  a 
lasting  wound. 

"  Too  blest  to  mourn 

Creation's  obsequies," 

we  shall  think  of  nothing  so  much  as  the  ultimate 
bliss  of  that  communion,  the  subordinate  results 
of  which  are  so  cheering  and  delightful.  As  the 
soul's  accordance  with  the  character,  the  w  ill.  the 
grace,  and  providence  of  God  is  confirmed,  and 


JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OF  SALVATION.  ^27 

matured  by  certain  gradations,  so  the  happiness 
of  this  blessed  harmony,  will  increase  with  every 
additional  discovery  of  his  goodness  and  beauty. 
The  more  we  find  that  is  lovely  in  him,  the  more 
we  shall  exult  to  be  like  him.  And  if  the  expec- 
tation of  heaven  warm  our  hearts  with  peculiar 
transports,  it  is  because  "  when  he  shall  appear, 
we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as 
he  is." 

A  mind  that  dissents  from  none  of  the  opera- 
tions of  the  divine  dispensations,  is  not  easily  per- 
plexed, nor  disquieted.  By  the  extent  of  its  re- 
signation, it  anticipates  the  more  obvious  possi- 
bilities of  probationary  suffering,  and  is,  therefore, 
not  thrown  into  the  dissonance  of  a  murmuring 
spirit,  by  unexpected  visitations.  It  has  already 
conceded,  that  "  the  way  of  man  is  not  in  him- 
self;" that  God's  will  must  be  done ;  that  the  Lord 
shall  "do  what  seemeth  him  good;"  that  "he 
doeth  his  pleasure  in  the  armies  above,  and  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  beneath:"  and  such  a 
concession  must  secure  to  all  the  events  of  provi- 
dence a  peaceful  submission.  By  such  a  mind  it 
will  be  easily  seen,  that  those  acts  of  seeming  se- 
verity by  which  the  Lord  exercises  the  faith  and 
patience  of  his  people,  and  which  might  appear 
calculated  to  break  the  harmony  betwixt  him  and 
his  afflicted  children,  obtain  their  consent,  as  me- 
thods of  wisdom  and  grace.  They  find,  that  when 


QOQ  JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OF  SALVATION. 

earthly  things  are  most  remote,  God  is  nearest  to 
them ;  that  when  their  hearts  are  most  severed 
from  all  present  objects,  they  have  the  more  sen- 
sible delight  in  communion  with  Him ;  that  it  is 
an  unspeakable  happiness  to  meet  him  all  alone, 
with  the  world  shut  out,  and  the  soul  closed 
against  its  intrusive  vanities.  Accordingly  it  will 
appear,  that  the  agreement  of  spirit  of  which  we 
speak,  is  not  only  the  conformity  of  the  heart  to 
the  divine  nature  as  effected  in  regeneration,  but 
also  the  consent  of  the  judgment  to  the  various 
orders  and  acts  of  Providence. 

This  becomes  a  solid  foundation  of  happiness 
in  God  ;  for  if  those  acts  of  his  Providence,  which 
are  most  adverse  to  all  our  temporal  felicity,  sub- 
versive of  our  favourite  caculations,  and  embitter- 
ing to  all  our  enjoyments,  are  so  mitigated  in  their 
afflictive  tendencies  by  the  sense  of  his  mercy,  that 
we  cannot  deny  our  acquiescence,  what  will  be 
our  adoring  admiration  of  those  heavenly  displays 
of  his  love  which  no  cloud  shall  obscure  ?  If  our 
spirits  are  made  to  accord  with  what  he  is,  and 
with  what  he  does  in  a  state  which  has  periods 
when  he  seems  to  hide  his  face,  and  to  draw  the 
darkness  of  indignation  around  his  countenance ; 
how  much  more  shall  we  harmonise  with  his  di- 
vine exhibitions  when  transported  to  these  scenes, 
where  no  jarring  sound  shall  ever  disturb  the  echo 
of  benediction,  and  no  shade  of  displeasure  ever 


JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OP  SALVATION.  QOQ 

vary  his  complacent  smile  ?  What  is  consent 
now,  will  be  admiration  then ;  what  is  submission 
now,  will  be  exultation  then ;  what  is  approbation 
now,  will  be  adoration  then ;  what  is  a  partial 
view  now,  will  then  be  perfect  knowledge.  Let 
us  now  yield  ourselves  to  God  as  those  who  are 
alive  from  the  dead,  and  rejoice  in  the  God  of  our 
salvation. 

2.  Another  prerequisite  to  the  joys  of  religion, 
is  the  power  of  distinguishing  and  relishing  spi- 
ritual beauty  and  excellence.  Taste,  as  a  faculty 
of  the  mind  exercised  in  the  perception  and  ap- 
preciation of  those  beauties  which  belong  to  the 
works  of  nature,  of  genius,  or  of  art,  has  been 
largely  and  frequently  discussed.  But  it  is  not  so 
generally  known,  that  the  more  interesting  ideas 
of  this  faculty  may  be  applied  to  the  perception  of 
those  beauties  which  the  Christian  system  exhibits. 
There  is  indeed  this  difference,  that  the  taste 
which  apprehends  natural  beauty,  must  be  an  in- 
nate principle;  but  that  which  enjoys  spiritual 
beauty,  must  be  implanted  by  the  agency  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  The  one  is  conversant  with  the 
fashion  of  that  world  which  passes  away;  the 
other,  with  that  which  is  far  removed  from  all 
change.  The  one  conveys  to  the  mind  a  momen- 
tary pleasure ;  the  other  imparts  a  happiness 
which  shall  be  improved  by  successive  views  into 
the  fruition  of  God.    In  exhorting  Christians  to 

28* 


330  JOY  I^  THE  GOD  OF  SALVATIOX. 

the  rejection  of  the  more  hurtful  and  malignant 
passions  and  vices,  the  Apostle  Peter  appeals  to 
their  spiritual  taste,  and  assumes  it  as  an  evident 
principle,  that  they  would  abhor  the  hideous  forms 
of  dissimulation  and  envy,  "If  so  be  they  had 
tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious."  And  the 
Psalmist  exclaims,  "O  taste  that  the  Lord  is 
good:  blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  him." 
Natural  taste  acquires  a  very  delicate  sensibility, 
not  only  to  beauties  but  to  deformities ;  receiving 
pleasure  from  the  one,  and  disgust  from  the  other. 
The  well-exercised  senses  of  Christians,  "discern 
good  and  evil."  Their  taste  apprehends  the 
beauty  of  the  divine  character,  and  derives  infi- 
nite delight  from  the  contemplation.  They  can 
see  in  Jesus  Christ  such  qualities  as  render  him 
unspeakably  precious  to  their  souls.  They  per- 
ceive in  the  plan  of  redemption  such  a  union  of 
goodness,  mercy,  faithfulness  and  truth,  as  excite 
their  gratitude  and  wonder.  To  them  there  is  an 
evident  impress  of  divinity  upon  all  the  parts  of 
that  gracious  scheme  which  contains  the  salvation 
of  sinners.  They  therefore  take  pleasure  in  look- 
ing into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  in  continu- 
ing therein.  On  the  other  hand,  they  are  easily 
excited  by  the  exhibition  of  evil.  Whatever  is  at 
variance  with  the  laws  of  God,  whatever  bears 
the  stamp  of  sin,  and  debases  the  soul  by  its  in- 
fluence, is  offensive  to  their  just  perception,  and 
painful  to  their  well-cultivated  taste. 


JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OF  SALVATION.  ^Q  | 

Hence  it  is  manifest,  that  what  we  here  deno- 
minate spiritual  taste  has  some  analogy  to  expe- 
rience. Let  it  be  observed,  however,  that  experi- 
ence is  much  more  comprehensive  in  signification, 
and  may  be  considered  as  comprising  all  the 
vigorous  exercises  of  piety.  But  that  part  of  it 
which  relates  to  the  happy  feelings  of  the  heart 
in  the  view  of  heavenly  objects,  may  express  the 
idea  of  taste,  under  consideration. 

The  pleasures  resulting  from  a  view  of  celestial 
beauty,  order,  and  proportion,  are  of  a  nature  too 
refined  to  be  conceived  by  the  dulness  of  natural 
sense.  They  must  be  seen  by  a  mind  which  de- 
lights in  holiness ;  must  be  felt  by  a  heart  alive  to 
the  impressions  of  mercy ;  must  be  relished  by  a 
soul  which  knows  what  it  is  to  be  "  assaulted  by 
sacred  violence,"  and  "stung  by  strongest  mo- 
tives." A  man  of  genuine  taste  will  discover  and 
feel  a  thousand  beauties  of  nature  or  art,  which 
would  wholly  escape  him  who  might  be  destitute 
of  this  discerning  faculty.  In  like  manner,  the 
spirit  which  has  been  formed  to  proper  ideas  of 
the  revelation  of  God,  will  see  in  every  line  of  in- 
spiration something  to  admire,  will  derive  food 
from  every  doctrine,  consolation  from  every  pro- 
mise, and  direction  from  every  precept.  Where 
unrenewed  reason  would  perceive  nothing  to  love, 
and  would  consequently  remain  in  the  coldness  of 
distant  speculation,  it  glows  with  the  ardour  of 


QQO  JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OF  SALVATION. 

sacred  affection,  and  realises  with  the  strength  of 
intimate  knowledge.  It  is  true  our  perception  of 
divine  goodness  and  beauty  are  necessarily  limited 
in  the  present  life.  "  Now  we  see  through  a  glass 
darkly."  Now  we  have  only  a  specimen  of  future 
exercises  and  employments.  Here  we  can  have 
no  more  than  a  foretaste  of  our  future  inheritance 
in  the  clusters  which  are  brought  from  the  goodly 
land.  Now  we  must  drink  from  the  rivulets,  and 
be  contented  with  the  smaller  streams.  But  this 
defect  in  our  spiritual  enjoyments,  may  be  deemed 
their  greatest  perfection.  They  are  wisely  im- 
parted. For  we  readily  ask,  if  the  dim  view  be 
so  cheering,  what  will  the  unobstructed  vision  be? 
If  the  rills  which  refresh  the  desert  are  so  consol- 
ing, what  will  be  the  ocean  ?  If  the  notes  of 
praise  of  our  mortal  lips  are  fraught  with  a 
melody  so  sacred  and  affecting,  what  must  be  the 
rapture  of  that  anthem  which  shall  resound  in  the 
golden  concave  of  immortality  ?  We  are  tending 
by  a  rapid  flight  to  our  final  home.  There  we 
shall  have  no  vestige  of  earthly  gratification,  no 
particle  of  that  comfort  which  is  now  wont  to 
cheer  our  sensible  hopes;  no  changing  seasons 
to  renew  the  joys  of  Spring,  and  the  boun- 
ties of  Summer  and  Autumn.  Yet  if  we  are 
possessed  of  a  taste  for  the  scenes  and  employ- 
ments of  our  ultimate  state,  we  shall  willingly  ex- 
change the  society  of  sinful  men,  for  an  innume- 


JOY  IN  THE  GOD  OP  SALVATION.  QQ^ 

rable  company  of  angels,  and  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect ;  the  region  of  storms  and 
darkness,  for  that  of  serenity  and  glory ;  the  sun 
which  is  liable  to  many  defections,  for  that  light 
which  shines  with  undimished  lustre ;  the  fading 
aspect  of  nature,  for  the  new  heavens  and  the 
new  earth  wherein  "  dwelleth  righteousness." 

Finally.  To  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  Prophet 
Habakkuk,  we  must  be  found  in  a  due  degree  of 
abstraction  from  the  world.  The  spirit  of  reli- 
gion and  of  the  world  are  on  extremes  too  oppo- 
site ever  to  coalesce.  Their  union  can  be  effected, 
neither  by  concession  on  the  one  hand,  nor  coer- 
cion on  the  other ;  and  those  who  determine  upon 
the  ways  of  piety,  must  lay  their  account  with  the 
renunciation  of  pleasures  and  maxims,  which  en- 
gage and  direct  the  pursuits  of  worldly  men. 

A  mind  which  solicits  in  any  shape,  the  applause 
of  men,  cannot  be  prepared  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord. 
This  exercise  implies  a  frame  of  soul  inconsistent 
with  the  competitions  of  rivalship,  foreign  to  the 
expedients  of  temporal  honour  and  preferments, 
and  estranged  from  the  blustering  malignity  of 
disappointed  ambition.  It  is  a  well  rectified  tem- 
per, which  finds  in  the  loving  kindness  of  the  Lord 
and  the  approbation  of  Heaven,  that  which  infi- 
nitely transcends  all  the  idle  breath  of  human 
commendation.  It  is  therefore  contented  to  forego 
the  praise  of  men  as  that  which  ensnares  when 


334  ^^^  ^^  '^^^  ^°°  ^^  SALVATION. 

possessed,  and  baffles  when  pursued;  does  not 
turn  upon  itself  the  corrosions  of  envy,  because 
another  is  advanced ;  does  not  contend  for  the 
phantom  of  secular  honour  with  those  instruments 
of  vituperation  which  belong  to  the  profane  and 
unbelieving,  and  abstains  from  that  worst  kind  of 
avarice,  which  is  "  avarice  of  air."  Such  a  dis- 
position must  be  regarded  as  an  important  pre- 
requisite to  rejoicing  in  the  Lord.  It  should  be 
carefully  considered  by  those,  whose  public  exer- 
cises often  expose  them  to  the  temptation  of  seek- 
ing the  good  opinion  of  men,  even  at  the  expense 
of  candour  and  godly  sincerity. 

Whilst  we  entertain  a  just  sense  of  that  divine 
joy  which  communion  with  God  affords,  we  shall 
be  less  inclined  to  overrate  the  advantages  of  a 
transient  being.  We  shall  regard  all  that  minis- 
ters to  the  accommodation  of  the  body  as  dying 
away  by  an  incurable  consumption,  as  falling  into 
a  general  desolation,  as  ready  to  vanish  away 
when  the  "  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat." 
Therefore,  "  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his 
wisdom,  neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his 
might,  let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches : 
but  let  him  that  glorieth,  glory  in  this,  that  he 
understandeth  and  knoweth  me,  that  I  am  the 
Lord,  which  exercise  loving  kindness,  judgments 
and  righteousness  in  the  earth :  for  in  these  things 
I  delight,  saith  the  Lord." 


SERMON  XIX. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  ACTUAL  PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH, 

Matthew  xxiv.  44. — Therefore  be  ye  also  ready,  for  in  such  an  hour 
as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of  Man  cometh. 

The  events  in  the  history  of  man  have  such 
weight  and  seriousness  as  to  demand  his  constant 
vigilance  and  attention.  Did  his  Ufe  pass  away  in 
the  levities  of  a  conduct  which  contains  no  con- 
nexion with  futm-ity,  it  might  not  then  be  inad- 
missible for  him  to  drown  all  the  more  sober  re- 
flections of  reason,  and  the  more  solemn  impres- 
sions of  responsibility,  in  the  tumult  of  eager  pas- 
sions, and  the  greediness  of  secular  delight.  In 
such  a  case  he  might  consistently  think  that  the 
best  preparation  for  an  approaching  trial  would 
be  to  allow  it  no  place  in  his  thoughts,  and  no  ex- 
citement to  his  fears.  He  might  thus  nobly  tread 
on  the  verge  of  disaster,  without  ever  viewing  the 
possibility  of  a  fall  from  his  secure  elevation.  But, 
for  us  who  live  under  other  allotments,  such  in- 
difference is  infatuation,  and  such  insensibility, 


QQg  IMPORTANCE  OF  ACTUAL 

presumption.  It  is  a  high  part  of  our  wisdom  to 
hold  ourselves  in  readiness  for  those  stupendous 
occasions,  when  changes  involving  eternal  conse- 
quences must  take  place.  The  least  relaxation 
of  vigilance,  or  the  smallest  defect  in  the  suffi- 
ciency of  our  qualifications  to  meet  the  coming 
scene,  must  be  attended  with  a  risk  too  dreadful 
to  be  incurred  without  a  deep  concern.  Any  fail- 
ure on  our  part  to  be  always  prepared  to  meet  the 
appointments  of  God,  is  a  very  daring  attempt  to 
frustrate  the  designs  of  the  wisdom  which  he  has 
displayed  in  concealing  from  us  "  the  times  and 
the  seasons."  His  purpose  in  keeping  us  igno- 
rant on  these  points  is  to  render  us  unremittingly 
watchful,  and  careful,  and  to  inculcate  prepara- 
tion at  all  times  for  that  which  may  come  at  any 
time.  If  we  therefore  become  negligent,  because 
we  are  ignorant,  we  arraign  the  justice  of  his  di- 
vine dispensations,  and  resist  the  holy  orders  of 
his  throne. 

Our  blessed  Lord  makes  the  words  of  the  text 
a  practical  inference  from  awakening  truths  which 
he  had  just  delivered.  These  truths  related  to 
the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  state  and  economy, 
and  to  the  end  of  the  world ;  events  the  period  of 
which  he  represents  as  being  hid  in  the  profoundest 
obscurity  from  the  knowledge  of  men  and  angels. 
And  as  they  were  so  uncertain  as  to  the  time  of 
their  tremendous  exhibition,  he  exhorts  his  disci- 


PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH.  QQiy 

pies  to  be  in  readiness,  to  contemplate  without 
dismay  or  consternation  his  appearance  in  the 
power  of  his  kingdom  and  glory.  The  text  natu- 
rally assumes  two  divisions,  which  we  shall  view 
in  their  proper  order. 

First.  The  exhortation  "  be  ye  also  ready." 
Secondly,  The  reason  by  which  it  is  enforced. 

In  the  exhortation,  we  shall  consider  some  of 
those  things  which  usually  delay  or  hinder  our 
preparation  to  meet  death  and  judgment,  show 
some  of  the  important  parts  of  such  preparation, 
and  its  evidences  upon  those  who  possess  it. 

1st.  We  are  destitute  of  preparation  to  meet 
that  event,  whatever  it  may  be,  whose  results  in- 
troduce us  to  a  station  for  the  employments  of 
which  we  have  no  suitable  qualifications.  Death 
gives  an  entire  change  to  the  exercises  and  em- 
ployments of  rational  beings.  It  places  them  upon 
the  boundless  scenes  of  eternity,  and  leaves  no  in- 
termediate condition  betwixt  supreme  felicity  and 
unutterable  wo.  And  as  it  should  be  our  high 
concern  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  ob- 
tain the  consolatory  assurance  of  meetness  for  the 
joys  of  the  blessed,  we  should  carefully  investigate 
and  assiduously  strive  to  remove  those  disqualify- 
ing circumstances  which  will  render  our  final 
change  an  unwelcome  visitation. 

The  sting  of  death  is  sin.  This  must  be  re- 
garded as  the  primary  obstacle  to  our  readiness 

29 


QQO  IMPORTANCE  OP  ACTUAL 

to  meet  the  dissolution  of  the  body.     This  gives 
to  death  all  its  triumph,  and  adds  malignity  to  the 
poison  of  its  darts.     It  surrounds  the  grave  with 
terrifying  horrors,  marks  with  desolation  the  pro- 
gress of  corruption,  and  renders  hideous  the  worm 
which  must  be  called  "  mother  and  sister."     If  in 
our  sad  experience  of  death,  the  powers  of  nature 
must  be  rent  with  agony,  if  the  heart  must  break 
with   anguish,  and  the  flesh  faint  with  weakness, 
if  the  vital  current  must  stop,  and  refuse  warmth 
and  life  to  the  system,  if  the  soul  too,  in  the  shock 
which   breaks  down  its  tenement  must  feel   con- 
sternation and  pain,  we  are  to  recollect  that  all 
this  dreadful  disorder  is  the  fruit  of  sin.    But,  it  is 
not  in  its  natural  effects  that  sin  operates  in  ren- 
dering us  unfit  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  the 
eternal  Judge.     Its  moral  pollution,  its  spiritual 
defilement,  its  deep  stains  of  guilt  upon  the  con- 
science is  the  grand   obstacle  to  our  preparation 
for  a  change  of  existence.     The  love  of  sin,  com- 
pliance with  its  motions  and  tendencies,  the  stead- 
fast retention  of  its  principles  in  the  understand- 
ing, and  of  its  pleasures  in  the  heart,  must  neces- 
sarily alienate  the  soul  from  God,  and  estrange  it 
from  all  the  joys  of  heaven.     They  who  have  felt 
the  sorrows  of  repentance,  and  have  been  exer- 
cised by  the  spirit  of  genuine  contrition,  who  like 
Job,  have  abhorred  themselves,  and  repented  in 
dust  and  ashes,  and  like  Paul,  have  exclaimed, 


PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH.  QQQ 

"  Wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death  ?"  however  oppressed 
with  a  sense  of  their  guilt  and  unworthiness,  may 
not  fear  that  the  iniquities  which  have  cost  them 
so  much  grief,  will  impair  their  qualifications  to 
meet  death.  It  is  only  that  sin  for  which  the 
streams  of  penitence  have  never  flowed,  and  that 
guilt  for  which  the  conscience  has  never  felt  the 
pangs  of  godly  sorrow,  which  can  make  us  dread 
eternity. 

We  usually  meet  without  a  reluctant  feeling 
those  events  for  which  we  are  fully  prepared ;  and 
consequently  the  unwillingness  manifested  by  the 
wicked  to  relax  their  grasp  on  this  world,  and 
pass  into  the  realities  of  another,  must  form  a 
striking  proof  of  their  want  of  readiness.  "  He 
shall  be  driven  from  light  into  darkness,  and  chased 
out  of  the  world."  "  Terrors  take  hold  on  him 
as  waters,  a  tempest  stealeth  him  away  in  the 
night.  The  east  wind  carrieth  him  away,  and  he 
departeth,  and  as  a  storm  carrieth  him  out  of  his 
place."  "  The  wicked  is  driven  away  in  his  wick- 
edness." They  are  styled  "  vessels  of  wrath,  and 
fitted  for  destruction."  It  is  by  the  influence  of  a 
sinful  spirit  that  vigilance  is  banished,  unbelief  is 
fostered,  worldly  cares  and  pleasures  are  invited 
to  the  chief  seat  in  the  heart. 

Those  who  yield  themselves  as  voluntary  sub- 
jects to  sin  are  quietly  reposing  in  the  treacherous 


Q^0  IMPORTANCE  OF  ACTUAL 

security  of  a  spiritual  lethargy.  They  are  awake 
to  no  cry  of  alarm,  sensible  of  no  impending  clanger, 
startled  by  no  awakening  terrors.  Watchfulness 
has  no  place  in  their  plans,  circumspection  forms 
no  part  of  the  order  in  their  conversation.  They 
dream  "  that  to-morrow  shall  be  as  this  day,  and 
much  more  abundant,"  that  they  shall  never  be 
moved  from  their  place,  and  that  all  things  will 
continue  for  ever  as  they  were  from  the  beginning 
of  the  creation.  How  inconsistent  is  such  a  state 
with  every  principle  and  habit  of  actual  readiness  ! 
To  need  a  call  to  awake  us  from  sleep  after  the 
dreadful  cry  of  the  bridegroom's  approach,  to 
begin  then  for  the  first  time  to  watch  and  pray, 
must  evince  only  our  preparation  for  the  confusion 
and  darkness  of  endless  despair.  Can  the  servant 
be  apprised  of  the  period  of  his  lord's  return  with- 
out watchfulness?  Can  the  weary  pilgrim  know 
the  time  of  the  day-spring,  if  his  eye  be  not  fixed 
upon  the  point  where  may  be  descried  the  first 
blush  of  morning  ?  "  They  that  sleep,  sleep  in  the 
night,  and  they  that  be  drunken,  are  drunken  in 
the  night.  But  let  us,  who  are  of  the  day,  be 
sober,  putting  on  the  breast-plate  of  faith  and  love ; 
and  for  an  helmet,  the  hope  of  salvation."  We 
should  recollect  that  it  is  possible  even  for  those 
who  may  be  reconciled  to  God,  and  have  repented 
of  their  sin,  so  to  intermit  their  vigilance,  as  to  be 
at  last  surprised  by  their  Lord's  coming.     The 


PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH.  ^^  I 

wise,  as  well  as  the  foolish  virgins  slumbered  and 
slept. 

Among  the  obstacles  to  our  readiness  for  the 
tremendous  ordinations  of  God  in  relation  to  us, 
unbelief  holds  a  conspicuous  place.  We  are  apt 
to  think  that  the  time  is  distant  when  we  shall  be 
called  to  realise  the  expectations  of  our  probation- 
ary state ;  and  even  when  the  end  of  all  things  is 
at  hand,  we  are  inclined  to  view  our  condition  as 
perfectly  secure.  "  Since  the  fathers  fell  asleep, 
all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  creation,"  is  a  lulling  deception  by 
which  we  are  often  tempted  to  quiet  our  appre- 
hensions. Because  we  see  the  same  aspect  in 
the  visible  creation,  the  same  changes  in  the  sea- 
sons, the  same  planets  revolve,  and  the  same  stars 
glow  in  the  firmament,  we  may  vainly  persuade 
ourselves  that  this  mighty  order  will  never  be 
broken,  and  that  creation  will  retain  its  form  for 
ever.  Thus  faith  in  the  declarations  and  promises 
of  God  being  weakened,  we  neglect  the  prepara- 
tions which  the  fulfilment  of  his  word  renders 
necessary.  Say,  ye  who  live  in  awful  destitution 
of  every  qualification  to  meet  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth,  do  you  not  secretly  console  yourselves  with 
some  indefinite  assumptions  of  infidelity,  that  the 
trials  you  have  been  taught  to  expect,  will  never 
come,  that  the  heavens  and  the  earth  will  never 
be  cleft  asunder  by  the  trumpet  of  the  descending 

29* 


342  IMPORTANCE  OP  ACTUAL 

God,  that  the  elements  will  never  melt  with  fer- 
vent heat,  that  the  mighty  fabric  of  nature  will 
never  feel  the  crush  of  final  dissolution?  Do  you 
not  endeavour  to  persuade  yourselves  that  the 
heaven  and  the  hell,  which  must  become  the 
receptacles  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  have 
no  existence  but  in  the  speculations  of  enthusiasts 
and  fanatics  ?  If  you  really  and  truly  believed  the 
warning  voice  of  God,  you  could  not  be  so  indif- 
ferent. Did  you  but  believe  that  the  beloved 
world  to  which  you  so  eagerly  cleave,  must  shortly 
sink  in  devouring  fire;  did  you  fully  believe  that 
your  everlasting  hopes  are  suspended  on  the 
bounty  of  an  hour,  and  that  the  moment  which 
succeeds  the  pulse  that  now  beats,  may  bring 
you  a  summons  to  leave  your  abode  in  time,  for  an 
eternal  habitation,  you  would  surely  act  differently. 
You  would  feel  the  necessity  of  habitual  promp- 
titude in  all  the  views  and  qualifications  de- 
manded by  the  change. 

The  remissness  of  Christians  in  the  attainments 
requisite  to  appear  before  the  Lord,  may  be  traced 
to  some  weakness  of  faith.  They  do  not  wholly 
disbelieve  the  voice  which  has  announced  the 
coming  solemnities  of  eternity ;  and  yet  their 
confidence  in  its  truths  is  not  so  strong  as  to  lead 
them  to  all  the  exercises  of  vigilance  and  care, 
which  habitual  readiness  requires.  Remember 
the   unbelief  of  that   servant   who   "  said   in   his 


PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH.  g^Q 

heart,  My  Lord  delayeth  his  coming,  and  began 
to  beat  the  men  servants  and  maidens,  and  to  eat 
and  drink,  and  to  be  drunken.  The  Lord  of  that 
servant  will  come  in  a  day  when  he  looketh  not 
for  him,  and  at  an  hour  when  he  is  not  aware, 
and  will  cut  him  in  sunder,  and  will  appoint  him 
his  portion  with  unbelievers." 

In  this  life  we  are  surrounded  with  cares,  and 
allured  by  pleasures,  which  greatly  abridge  our 
spiritual  exercises,  and  divert  our  solemn  attention 
from  the  concerns  of  our  final  condition.  In  the 
distraction  of  temporal  cares,  the  soul  loses  sight 
of  those  transcendent  glories  by  which  its  nobler 
powers  should  be  attracted.  Whilst  we  care  for  the 
world,  we  are  unhappily  liable  to  abate  the  ardour 
of  our  pursuit  after  the  life  to  come.  Hence  we 
have  great  reason  to  take  heed,  lest  at  any  time 
our  hearts  be  overcharged  with  surfeiting  and 
intoxicating  pleasure.  The  earnest  pursuit  of 
pleasure  is  represented  by  our  Lord  as  blinding 
the  eyes  of  the  antediluvians  to  the  tokens  of 
divine  providence.  "For  as  the  days  of  Noah 
were,  so  also  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man 
be :  for  as  in  the  days  that  were  before  the  flood, 
they  were  eating  and  drinking,  and  marrying,  and 
giving  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noah  enter- 
ed into  the  ark,  and  knew  not  until  the  flood  came 
and  took  them  all  away."  Whilst  we  allow  our 
hearts  to  rest  contented  with  the  enjoyments  of 


*iAA  IMPORTANCE  OF  ACTUAL 

time,  we  shall  not  anxiously  look  for  the  coming 
of  our  redemption.  Satisjfied  in  our  present  de- 
lights, our  languid  spirits  will  not  pant  for  the 
streams  of  celestial  joy.  Soothed  by  the  music  of 
present  pleasure,  we  shall  heave  no  aspiring  sigh 
for  the  melody  of  that  eternal  song  which  the 
saints  swell  in  sublime  chorus  around  the  throne 
of  God.  Encompassed  thus  with  many  things  to 
interfere  with  our  preparation  for  appearing  in  the 
presence  of  God,  we  should  \^atch  and  pray. 
"  The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand ;  be  ye  there- 
fore sober  and  watch  unto  prayer."  For  there  is 
a  readiness  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
which  many  eminent  saints  have  attained,  and  for 
which  we  should  earnestly  strive. 

2.  Let  us  now  show  some  of  the  more  import- 
ant parts  of  this  solemn  preparation.  It  must  be 
considered  as  essentially  comprised  in  the  dispo- 
sitions and  habits  of  a  renewed  soul.  To  all 
others  our  God  must  appear  a  "  consuming  fire," 
his  name  and  nature  must  strike  with  inexpressible 
terrors  those  who  shall  be  found  in  the  possession 
and  indulgence  of  unrepented  sin.  "  They  shall  be 
punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Lord  and  the  glory  of  his  power. 
When  he  comes  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power 
and  great  glory,  they  shall  wail  because  of  him. 
They  shall  run  into  dens  and  caves  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  call  to  the  rocks  and  mountains  to  fall  on 


PREPARATION  TOR  DEATH.  OJr 

them  and  cover  them,  for  the  great  day  of  his 
wrath  will  then  be  come,  and  who  shall  be  able  to 
stand?"  But  if  our  souls  have  been  quickened 
and  sanctified  by  his  grace,  if  we  have  experi- 
mentally known  the  believer's  transition  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God,  we  shall  meet  the  Lord  with  ecstasy, 
and  shall  exclaim,  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly."  Hence  the  more  important  parts  of  the 
requisite  preparation,  are  the  forgiveness  of  sins 
through  the  Redeemer's  blood,  the  justification  of 
the  soul  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  its  sancti- 
fication  by  the  influences  of  the  divine  Spirit  ap- 
plying the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  Yet  when  our 
Saviour  says,  "Be  ye  also  ready,"  we  are  to 
understand  the  attitude  of  one  who  is  "  looking 
unto  Jesus,"  who  has  committed  to  him  his  chief 
interest,  and  being  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to 
keep  the  sacred  deposit,  is  eagerly  watching  all 
the  indications  of  providence,  that  he  might  seize 
with  joy  the  first  intimation  of  his  Lord's  coming. 
In  this  view,  the  soul's  actual  preparation  will 
comprehend  something  more  than  what  is  merely 
habitual.  And  in  order  to  be  in  constant  and 
actual  readiness,  we  must  know  what  it  is  to  have 
communion  with  God,  to  cherish  a  tender  sense  of 
his  just  authority  and  holy  inspection,  to  be- 
lieve with  active  faith  all  his  declarations,  to  have 
our  hearts  suitably  detached  from  the  things  of  this 


OJ^/J  IMPORTANCE  OF  ACTUAL 

world,  and  in  a  word,  "being  risen  with  Christ,  to 
seek  those  things  which  are  above,  where  Ciirist 
sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God." 

3.  If  the  condition  in  which  we  are  to  be 
ushered  into  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  be  a  mat- 
ter so  deserving  attention  and  soHcitude,  it  will  be 
an  interesting  inquiry  to  ascertain  some  of  the 
evidences  of  the  soul's  fitness  for  such  an  inter- 
view. Do  we  "love  the  appearing  of  the  Lord?" 
The  Apostle  gives  this  as  an  evidence  of  prepara- 
tion to  enter  into  his  glory.  The  crown  of  right- 
eousness was  to  be  given,  not  to  himself  only,  but 
to  all  those  who  love  his  appearing.  We  cannot 
love  that  which  is  unwelcome  to  us,  which  con- 
veys terror  to  our  minds,  which  associates  us  with 
the  objects  against  which  our  whole  nature  revolts. 
If,  therefore,  we  love  the  anticipation  of  that 
period  when  we  shall  be  brought  nearer  to  our 
dear  Saviour,  when  all  the  coldness  of  distance 
and  uncertainty  shall  be  removed,  and  our  souls 
shall  drink  the  spirit  of  an  everlasting  day,  it  is  a 
pleasing  testimony  to  our  conscience  that  grace 
has  fitted  us  for  the  grand  result. 

The  abhorrence  of  sin  and  the  love  of  holiness 
must  combine  their  influences  upon  the  hearts  of 
those  who  will  exult  in  God's  immediate  presence. 
To  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  the  face  of  the 
Lord  will  be  an  insupportable  pressure ;  but  by 
those  whose  spirits  are  sorrowing  for  their  sin. 


PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH. 


347 


who  feel  and  lament  the  plague  of  their  hearts, 
who  know  that  it  is  an  evil  thing  and  bitter  to  sin 
against  God,  who  desire  above  all  things  to  be 
delivered  from  the  stains  of  guilt,  and  assimilated 
to  the  purity  of  their  Saviour's  image,  the  events 
which  are  to  conduct  them  to  scenes  of  purer 
joy,  will  be  hailed  with  delightful  transport.  A 
contrite  heart,  where  the  Lord  delights  to  dwell, 
will  never  be  dismayed  at  the  presence  of  him 
who  selects  it  as  his  habitation.  When  the  Lord 
shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  ad- 
mired in  them  that  believe,  he  shall  say,  "  Gather 
my  saints  together,  those  that  have  made  a  cove- 
nant with  me  by  sacrifice."  Now  the  sacrifices 
of  God  are  a  broken  spirit,  "  a  broken  and  a  con- 
trite heart  he  will  not  despise." 

In  the  character  of  that  Saviour  in  whom  we 
trust,  we  find  an  evidence  of  our  readiness  to  en- 
counter the  events  before  us.  Should  you  see  a 
man  with  his  house  firmly  seated  on  a  rock,  you 
would  instantly  conclude  that  he  was  prepared  for 
the  storm.  The  solitary  pilgrim  possessing  a 
covering  under  "fhe  shadow  of  a  great  rock," 
fears  not  that  he  shall  be  smitten  by  the  scorching 
ray.  The  son,  with  a  filial  spirit,  however  tossed 
on  the  tempestuous  billows,  entertains  no  dread,  be- 
cause he  confides  in  his  father's  protection.  The  ex- 
piring saint  can  fearlessly  walk  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  because  God  is  with  him, 


g^O  IMPORTANCE  OP  ACTUAL 

and  by  his  rod  and  staff  comforts  him.  He  that 
has  an  all-prevailing  intercessor  may  not  tremble 
at  the  face  of  the  eternal  Judge.  He  that  has  an 
advocate  with  the  Father,  even  Jesus  Christ  the 
righteous,  will  be  ultimately  vindicated  against  all 
the  accusations  of  sin  and  Satan ;  will  shine  in 
the  beauty  of  that  innocence  which  he  derives 
from  the  righteousness  of  the  Saviour,  and  will 
assert  his  claim  to  the  beatitude  of  heaven.  If 
we  be  in  the  keeping  of  that  Shepherd  who  "  lays 
down  his  life  for  the  sheep,"  who  was  smitten  in 
their  stead  by  the  sword  of  the  Almighty,  who 
found  us  going  astray,  and  restored  us  to  the 
Bishop  of  our  souls,  then  none  shall  pluck  us  from 
his  hand,  no  weapon  shall  prosper  against  us,  the 
beasts  of  the  field  shall  be  in  league  with  us,  and 
the  desert  shall  become  streams  of  living  water. 
If  we  be  sustained  by  the  grace  of  him  who  has 
vanquished  death,  and  exhibited  the  lustre  of  im- 
mortality, then  without  fear  we  may  meet  the 
conquered  foe,  view  all  the  mitigated  horrors  of 
his  character,  survey  all  the  forms  of  his  subju- 
gated power,  and  quietly  pass  his  dark  domain. 

Secondly.  We  proceed  to  view  the  reason  by 
which  the  exhortation  is  enforced.  "  For  in  such 
an  hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of  Man  cometh." 
Our  most  unguarded  moments  are  often  those  in 
which  we  touch  the  border  of  some  momentous 
scene.     "  In  such  an  hour  as  we  think  not,"  we 


PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH.  Q^Q 

may  be  inhaling  the  pestilence  which  is  to  end 
our  lives,  or  pursuing  the  pleasure  which  is  to  be 
fatal  to  us,  or  nourishing  the  disease  which  is 
speedily  to  diffuse  its  malignant  power  over  our 
whole  body.  "  In  such  an  hour  as  we  think  not," 
the  command  may  be  given  to  cut  us  down  as 
cumberers  of  the  ground,  to  make  our  root  rot- 
tenness, and  our  blossom  dust,  to  pour  contempt 
upon  all  our  fading  honours  and  attainments,  and 
to  mingle  our  glory  with  the  dust.  "In  such  an 
hour  as  we  think  not,"  the  gates  of  death  may  be 
opening  for  us,  the  history  of  our  probation  may 
be  receiving  its  last  page,  and  our  opportunities 
closing  for  ever. 

We  are  prone  to  thoughtlessness,  and  must  find 
by  frequent  and  painful  experience  that  such  a 
temper  is  an  unhappy  source  of  our  greatest 
troubles.  From  not  thinking,  we  fall  into  errors, 
the  consequences  of  which  embitter  the  greater 
part  of  our  existence.  From  not  thinking,  we 
become  quiet  in  the  most  perilous  circumstances, 
and  delude  ourselves  with  vain  promises  of  future 
safety  and  happiness.  By  not  thinking,  we  offend 
God,  expose  our  souls  to  danger,  rush  into  the 
ways  of  destruction,  and  incur  the  dreadful  risk 
of  final  ruin.  God  says,  "My  people  do  not 
know,  Israel  doth  not  consider."  If  we  were  to 
meditate  and  reflect,  we  should  certainly  see  and 

30 


QKQ  IMPORTANCE  OF  ACTUAL 

shun  many  of  those  evils  into  which  we  plunge. 
A  little  thought  would  convince  us  of  the  extreme 
presumption  of  our  plans  and  hopes.  It  would 
bring  eternity  more  before  our  eyes,  and  incite  us 
to  becoming  diligence  in  being  ready  for  its  awful 
consequences.  A  little  reflection  would  show  us 
that  our  frail  lives  are  wasting  away,  that  in  a 
moment  all  the  springs  may  break,  and  leave  the 
body  a  mass  lifeless  and  inert.  And  as  we  must 
give  an  account  to  God  for  our  sins  and  follies,  it 
may  be  his  pleasure  to  enter  into  judgment  with 
us  at  a  time  when  we  the  least  expect  it.  Thus 
we  shall  be  surprised  by  his  coming,  and  in  the 
trepidation  of  unavailing  haste,  shall  anxiously 
call  to  every  one  that  passes  for  help — "  Give  us 
of  your  oil,  for  our  lamps  have  gone  out."  Dread- 
ful will  it  be  to  have  the  light  of  hope  extinguished 
at  the  very  time  when  we  shall  most  need  its  cheer- 
ing influence. 

It  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  that  we  should 
be  so  successful  in  making  ourselves  believe  that 
we  are  in  no  danger.  "  Man's  death  inhabits  all 
things  but  the  thought  of  man."  Do  friends 
around  us  drop  into  the  grave  and  disappear  from 
our  circles  ?  we  conclude  that  our  time  is  yet  dis- 
tant, and  that  we  have  no  need  to  change  our 
way  of  life.  Does  the  grim  visage  of  death  enter 
our  own  families,  and  look  down  with  menacing 


PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH.  ^gj 

horror  upon  our  apartments  ?  we  still  think 
that  there  is  time  enough  for  us.  Are  we  rent 
from  tlie  dearest  objects  of  hfe,  severed  from  all 
that  cheered  with  smiles  and  sweetness  our  toil- 
some probation,  left  with  the  bleeding  bosom  of 
bereavement  in  protracted  sorrow?  still  we  for- 
get our  own  mortality,  and  shed  tears  over  those 
who  were  born  to  die.  In  this  lamentable  blind- 
ness to  our  impending  destiny,  how  necessary  is 
it  that  we  daily  view  the  ground  of  our  assur- 
ance, and  confirm  the  hope  of  a  better  life  by 
preparing  to  meet  God !  Reflect  on  the  in- 
stances of  death  which  have  come  under  your 
own  knowledge,  and  judge  for  yourselves  on  this 
important  point.  Did  the 'young  man  who  lies 
interred  yonder,  anticipate  his  approaching  end? 
or  was  he  overtaken  by  the  appalling  decree, 
whilst  hope  sparkled  in  his  eye,  and  health 
flushed  his  countenance  ?  In  him  the  vital  cur- 
rent was  suspended  with  the  stagnation  of  death, 
before  his  anxious  friends  suspected  his  fall.  And 
how  was  it  with  the  fair  and  tender  form  that 
lies  mouldering  here?  She  too  was  broken  down 
in  an  instant,  and  in  death  lay  "  a  beauteous 
ruin."  Another  that  slumbers  near  at  hand,  was 
snatched  from  the  active  scenes  of  life,  torn  from 
wife  and  children,  whilst  the  warm  blood  of  af- 
fection   was    yet    throbbing    through   his   heart. 


ggO  IMPORTANCE  OF  ACTUAL 

And  should  we  consult  the  long  records  of  mor- 
tality, the  observation  which  must  strike  us, 
would  be,  that  in  a  majority  of  cases  the  sum- 
mons of  departure  was  unexpected.  Kow  so- 
lemnly does  this  enforce  the  exhortation  of  the 
text !  If  the  hand  of  death  may  seize  us  when 
we  least  expect  it,  if  when  we  go  out  we  may 
never  return  to  our  habitations,  and  when  we 
close  our  eyes  in  repose,  we  may  awake  in 
eternity,  if  the  food  with  which  we  are  nourished, 
and  the  recreation  with  which  we  are  refreshed, 
may  contain  the  cause  of  dissolution,  if  the  stern 
visage  of  death  may  be  hid  under  the  rosy  hue  of 
health,  and  his  gloomy  features  concealed  behind 
the  smile  of  pleasure  ;  and  if,  in  short,  our  life  is 
a  vapour  that  vanishes  as  soon  as  beheld,  how 
careful  and  vigilant  should  we  be  to  hold  our- 
selves in  habitual  readiness  to  relinquish  our 
abode  on  earth !  Think,  therefore,  of  your  ap- 
proaching end.  Keep  in  view  your  Lord's  com- 
ing, and  be  conversant  with  the  ideas  inspired 
by  such  a  prospect.  Beware  lest  you  be  sur- 
prised by  the  imperceptible  advent  of  Him  who 
shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead.  Resist 
firmly  the  obstacles  which  delay  your  preparation. 
"  Seek  unto  God,  and  unto  God  commit  your 
cause  !"  Allow  yourselves  no  rest  until  the  as- 
surance of  pardoned  sin  be  obtained ;   until  you 


PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH.  ^^•J 

rest  in  the  cheering  confidence  of  God's  love, 
and  are  able  to  appropriate  to  yourselves  the 
comfort  of  the  blessed  promises.  Listen  not  to 
the  song  of  pleasure,  it  is  a  music  that  never 
breaks  the  silence  of  the  tomb ;  look  not  on  the 
dazzling  light  of  worldly  joy,  it  never  penetrates 
the  gloom  of  the  grave. 


30 


SERMON   XX. 


THE  WISDOM  OF  GOD  IN  SALVATION. 


1  Cor.  i.  21. — For  after  that,  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world  by  wis- 
dom knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching 
to  save  them  that  believe. 


When  I  shall  have  submitted  to  your  conside- 
ration, First,  Some  of  those  things  in  preaching 
which  by  the  world  are  deemed  foolishness ;  and 
Secondly,  That  these  very  things  show  the  wis- 
dom of  God  in  the  plan  of  salvation  ;  I  shall  close 
the  discussion. 

1.  The  preaching  of  the  cross  of  Christ  is  re- 
garded by  the  world  as  a  weak  expedient.  In 
the  judgment  of  man  the  doctrine  which  emanates 
from  Calvary,  is  a  simple  absurdity,  unsupported 
by  the  speciousness  which  has  recommended  other 
absurdities  to  the  respect  of  the  ignorant  and  su- 
perstitious. That  God  should  select  an  unoffend- 
ing victim  in  the  person  of  his  own  son,  and  should 
make  him  an  example  of  that  avenging  justice 
which  admitted  no  relaxation  of  its  claims,  in 


THE  WISDOM  OP  GOD  IN  SALVATION.  Q^rj 

order  that  he  might  be  justified  in  extending  mercy 
to  sinners,  is  one  of  those  prominent  scandals  at 
which  the  wisdom  of  the  world  has  always  stum- 
bled, and  will  always  stumble.  The  men  of  mere 
reason  cannot  digest  a  doctrine  which  to  them  is 
so  crude  and  repulsive.  It  offers  violence  to  their 
views  of  propriety,  and  reverses  all  that  philosophy 
in  which  they  take  so  much  pride.  It  prostrates 
the  high  fabric  of  fancied  dignity,  and  leaves  all 
the  loftiness  of  man  stained  and  levelled  with  the 
dust.  But  even  were  it  not  thus  humbling  to  crea- 
ture greatness,  the  reason  of  the  creature  would, 
nevertheless,  view  it  as  a  weak  expedient.  As  an 
instrument  for  imparting  good  to  man's  moral 
character,  it  would  have  been  the  very  last  to 
enter  into  his  thoughts.  As  a  motive  to  the  fear 
of  God,  and  to  the  obed  ence  of  a  holy  life,  it 
would  never  have  been  embraced  within  the 
widest  random  of  human  conjecture.  As  a  re- 
medy for  the  moral  maladies  which  afflict  our 
common  humanity,  it  would  never  have  entered 
into  the  calculation  of  any  human  mind.  Pru- 
dence would  have  declaimed  against  it  as  an  un- 
wise and  ill-devised  measure.  False  pity  would 
have  interposed  its  regrets  at  a  proposal  so  full  of 
bloody  and  fatal  consequences  to  the  innocent  and 
pure.  Proud  reason  would  have  started  into  a 
thousand   protestations  against  the  whole  planj 


Qffg  THE  WISDOM  OF 

and  thus  redemption  would  never  have  been 
thought  of,  the  foolishness  of  preaching  would 
have  continued  to  be  an  unexplored  mystery,  and 
the  glorious  capabilities  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
cross,  would  have  remained  sealed  for  ever  against 
human  knowledge  and  contemplation.  Since,  then, 
in  the  whole  moral  and  intellectual  constitution  of 
man  there  is  no  principle  or  faculty  which  would 
have  responded,  in  tones  of  approbation  to  such  a 
method  of  salvation  as  that  which  the  cross  pro- 
poses, it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  all  that 
wisdom  in  him  which  is  no  more  than  human, 
would  have  rejected  such  a  proposition,  could  it 
have  been  made.  And  why  this  rejection  ?  Be- 
cause such  wisdom  would  have  deemed  it  at  best 
but  a  weak  expedient.  Had  it  been  consulted,  it 
would  have  frowned  upon  such  a  suggestion  as 
that  of  restoring  man  to  his  Maker  by  the  inter- 
vention of  that  mysterious  transaction  exhibited 
upon  the  cross.  Now  it  withholds  its  assent  from 
the  doctrine  actually  established  by  that  wonder- 
ful event,  and  questions  with  an  air  of  high  confi- 
dence, whether  God  can  be  the  author  of  such  an 
arrangement,  whether  it  accords  with  his  great- 
ness and  glory  to  be  pleased  with  such  a  sacrifice 
as  that  which  forms  the  leading  topic  in  preaching; 
and  whether,  if  he  must  have  some  plan  for  the 
restoration  of  his  apostate  creatures,  one  more 


GOD  IN  SALVATION.  ^5*7 

suitable  to  the  dignity  of  his  name,  and  the  ma- 
jesty of  his  administration,  could  not  have  been 
devised. 

Thus  far  we  have  exhibited  sOme  of  the  ques- 
tionings of  reason  in  reference  to  th^X  foolishness 
of  preaching  which  embraces  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross.  And  now  let  us  inquire  whether  the  fool- 
ishness is  to  be  charged  upon  the  preaching,  or 
upon  that  presuming  reason  which  prefers  the 
charge.  Taking  it  as  a  safe  maxim,  that  any  po- 
sition may  he  deemed  credible  unless  its  oppo- 
site can  he  proved,  or  should  be  capable  of  proof, 
we  proceed  to  examine  the  credibility  of  the  doc- 
trine in  question.  If  it  can  be  proved  to  demon- 
stration that  no  sin  exists,  and  that  the  human 
race  is  guilty  of  no  moral  defection  against  God, 
then  the  entire  subject  of  mercy  and  forgiveness 
becomes  visionary,  since  it  would  be  idle  to  speak 
of  pardon  where  no  criminality  can  be  found.  And 
if  it  can  be  further  shown,  that  even  on  the  sup- 
position of  the  existence  of  sin,  God  either  could 
not,  or  would  not  institute  such  a  method  of  dis- 
playing his  mercy,  as  that  upon  which  the  foolish- 
ness of  preaching  insists,  then  the  whole  doctrine 
of  the  cross  becomes  incredible,  because  a  doc- 
trine contrary  to  that  will  have  been  proved.  But 
where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world  who  will  prove 
to  demonstration  that  the  human  race  is  guilty  of 
no  defection — no  sin  against  God?    Where  is  the 


ggO  THE  WISDOM  OF 

wisdom  which  can  show,  either  that  He  could  not 
or  would  not  establish  such  a  plan  of  mercy  as 
that  which  constitutes  the  one,  primary  theme  of 
preaching?  But  until  this  can  be  proved,  the 
doctrine  of  mercy  and  propitiation  which  the  cross 
proclaims  is  at  least  credible.  It  is  something 
which  may  be  believed,  because  its  opposite  can 
neither  be  actually  proved,  nor  shown  to  be  capa- 
ble of  proof 

And  if  this  doctrine  may  be  believed,  because 
no  human  mind  can  pretend  either  to  comprehend 
or  establish  the  reverse,  then  all  the  evidence 
which  the  word  of  God  supplies  towards  its  con- 
firmation, is  so  much  added  to  its  original  credi- 
bility. The  evidence  of  Scripture  will  not  have 
to  contend  with  improbability — will  not  have  to 
silence  the  clamours  of  common  sense,  before  it 
can  begin  to  operate  in  the  establishment  of  this 
truth.  "  We  preach  Christ  crucified,"  says  Paul, 
"  unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling  block,  and  unto  the 
Greeks  foolishness."  The  great  objection  which 
both  Jews  and  Greeks  made  to  Christ,  was  not 
founded  upon  the  fact  of  his  being  the  Saviour, 
the  promised  Messiah,  nor  upon  the  fact  of  his 
asserted  equality  with  God ;  but  upon  the  humbling 
fact  of  his  being  the  crucified.  They  knew  but 
too  well  that  he  had  died  the  ignominious  death 
of  the  cross,  and  therefore  they  rejected  his  reli- 
gion.    If  any  one  feature  in  the  suflerings  and 


GOD  IN  SALVATION.  OXO 

death  of  Christ  be  more  obvious  and  prominent 
than  another,  it  is  the  atoning  and  expiatory  cha- 
racter of  those  sufferings  and  of  that  death.  He 
is  the  Substitute  as  having  died  that  we  might 
live ;  the  Propitiation  for  our  sins ;  the  Sin-offer- 
ing for  us ;  the  good  Shepherd  that  lays  down  his 
life  for  the  flock.  The  whole  question,  therefore, 
respecting  the  doctrine  of  the  cross,  resolves  itself 
into  another  question,  and  that  is.  Is  the  Scripture 
which  teaches  this  doctrine,  true  ? 

You  who  would  regard  it  as  a  weak  expedient 
must  prepare  yourselves  to  prove  that  all  revela- 
tion is  but  a  weakness.  Before  you  can  make 
the  preaching  of  the  cross  of  Christ  appear  to 
be  foolishness,  you  must  stamp  that  character 
upon  the  whole  Bible,  and  reduce  to  absurdity  all 
its  propositions.  You  must  subvert  the  whole 
structure  of  revealed  truth,  before  you  can  de- 
face that  glorious  inscription  which  the  blood  of 
the  everlasting  covenant  has  rendered  indelible 
for  ever.  You  must  reverse  the  doctrine  of  Moses, 
and  falsify  the  Prophets,  and  prostrate  the  credi- 
bility of  all  history,  and  invade  with  impious  re- 
bellion the  province  and  throne  of  God  himself, 
before  the  simple  ^'■foolishness  of  preaching^''  can 
be  divested  of  its  majestic  claims. 

2.  That  agency  of  the  divine  Spirit  on  which 
the  success  of  preaching  depends,  is  regarded  by 
the  world  as  something  visionary,  and  consequently 


Qaf)  THE  WISDOM  OF 

foolish.     All  true  preaching  admits  that  it  is  God 
THAT  GivETH  THE  INCREASE.     To   him  it  refers 
the    application   of  every    effort,  the   persuasive 
force    of    every    argument.     It   relies   upon   the 
effectual  teaching  of  that  Spirit,  which  opens  up 
to  the  soul  of  man  the  truths  which  appertain  to 
Christ,  and  convinces  of  sin,  of  righteousness  and 
of  judgment.     A  ministry  thus  circumstanced,  in 
the  view  of  the  world,  is  suspended  upon  nothing. 
When  we  say  that  all  our  appeals  to  the  con- 
sciences of  men,  all  our  reasonings  and  expostu- 
lations with  them,  will  prove  wholly  abortive,  unless 
seconded  by  the  vivifying  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
we  seem  to  the  men  of  mere  reason  to  talk  idly 
and  obscurely.     They  are  ready  to  say  to  us,  How 
can  these  things  be  ?     They  cannot  perceive  how 
an  effect  can  exist  without  an  adequate  cause. 
They  cannot  imagine  how  an  invisible  influence, 
not  necessarily  in  the  word,  not  necessarily  em- 
braced   in   the  doctrine  itself — can  nevertheless 
accompany  both  the  word  and  doctrine,  to  enforce 
a  favourable  reception.     They  therefore  quarrel 
with  the  positions  of  the  preacher  on  this  head, 
and  stigmatise  his  whole  theory  as  the  weakness 
of  a  distempered  brain.     But  they  should  remem- 
ber that  their  quarrel  exists,  not  with  the  sup- 
posed foolishness   of  preaching,   but   with    its 
divine  Author.     He  has  taught  us  to  believe  the 
doctrine  of  spiritual  power  and  attraction  in  re- 


GOD  IN  SALVATION. 


361 


generation.  He  says,  "  No  man  can  come  unto 
me,  except  the  Father  who  sent  me  draw  him. 
That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and  that 
which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit."  And  says 
an  apostle.  No  man  can  say  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Man  gives  no 
heed  to  the  message  of  salvation,  until  his  heart 
be  moved  by  the  gentle  intimations  of  God  work- 
ing within  him.  He  starts  not  from  the  guilty  re- 
pose of  sin,  until  the  whispers  of  an  inviting 
Spirit  be  heard  calling  him  away  from  its  en- 
chantments, and  from  the  long  torpor  of  unbelief. 
Such  is  the  influence,  brethren,  under  which  you 
have  been  made  Christians,  if  indeed  you  have 
tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious.  Had  not  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  confirmed  our  doctrines  and 
arguments,  you  would  have  been  yet  in  the  gall 
of  bitterness  and  in  the  bonds  of  iniquity.  And 
those  of  you  who  are  not  yet  partakers  of  the  re- 
generation, must  be  conformed  to  this  peculiarity 
in  the  foolishness  of  preaching,  before  you  can  be 
saved.  Listen  even  now  to  the  warning  voice  of 
God.  Hearken  to  the  soft  and  tender  admoni- 
tions of  that  inward  exhorter,  who  preaches  to 
your  hearts  whilst  we  preach  to  your  ears.  You 
have  probably  been  almost  disposed  to  blame  us 
for  not  converting  you  by  the  power  of  reason,  or 
the  sympathy  of  feeling.  You  have  been  waiting 
either  for  some  violence  to  arrest  you,  or  for  some 

31 


352  THE  WISDOM  OF 

force  to  coerce  you,  or  for  some  unexpected  light 
to  cast  its  sudden  glories  on  your  benighted  habi- 
tation. But  remember,  and  lay  the  truth  upon  your 
hearts,  that  no  voice  except  that  of  the  Spirit  and 
the  Bride  will  ever  woo  you — no  sounds  except 
those  which  are  blended  with  the  teachings  of 
Inspiration,  will  ever  reach  your  hearts — no  life- 
giving  breezes  will  ever  blow  upon  you,  except 
those  which  are  in  the  breathings  of  the  still  small 
voice. 

3.  Another  reason   why  preaching  incurs  the 
imputation  of  foolishness,  is  the  simplicity  of  the 
cause  from  which  it  promises  such  magnificent 
effects.     The  simple  cause  of  that  grand  result 
which  is  implied  in  salvation,  is  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.     "Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved,"  was  the  one  prescription 
which  the  apostles  gave  for  the  cure  of  the  most 
urgent  malady.   The  natural  course  of  the  human 
mind  leads  it  to  require  for  great  efi'ects,  causes 
proportionally  great.     That  mind  is  offended  with 
nothing,  more  than  with  a  supposed  disproportion 
in  this  respect.     In  great  revolutions  it  looks  for  a 
mighty  impulse ;  changes  of  importance  must  have 
a  train  of  important  causes ;  great  conquests  must 
be  the  result  of  great  preparations;  and  in  a  word, 
the  mind  of  man  naturally  sets  a  high  price  upon 
all  valuable  objects.     Were  salvation  to  be  pur- 
chased with  money,  he  would  have  it  at  any  rate. 


GOD  IN  SALVATION.  ^go 

Could  it  be  obtained  by  a  pilgrimage,  he  would 
soon  commence  the  laborious  journey ;  would  ex- 
pose himself  to  want,  toil,  privation,  and  all  the 
ills  of  inclement  skies ;  would  breast  the  storm, 
traverse  the  darkness  and  the  solitude ;  tear  his 
flesh  with  thorns  and  briers  of  the  wilderness,  and 
trace  the  rocky  path  with  the  blood  of  his  lace- 
rated knees.     Yes,  my  brethren,  it  is  natural  to 
man  to  seek  his  spiritual  happiness  in  any  way, 
other  than  that  which  stands  propounded  by  the 
simplicity  of  the  Gospel.     Salvation  by  grace  is 
too  easy.     It  is  too  large  an  effect  from  so  small  a 
cause,  too  concise  to  be  the  road  to  heaven,  too 
summary  a  process  to  conduct  the  soul  to  a  des- 
tiny so  glorious.    If  it  required  a  greater  expen- 
diture of  pains  and  sacrifices,  it  would  be  more 
popular.     If  it  consisted  in  any  bodily  exercise, 
however  painful  or  protracted,  it  would   better 
suit  the  taste  of  the  world.    If  the  preacher  were 
to  go  forth  amid  the   pomp  of  temporal  circum- 
stances, or  were  to  conceal  himself  like  the  an- 
cient manufacturers  of  oracular  responses,  amid 
the  solitary  gloom  of  some  sequestered  temple,  or 
were  to  array  himself  in  the  gorgeous  ensigns  of 
kingly  power,  the  world  would  admire  his  wisdom, 
and  yield  a  ready  obedience  to  his  precepts.     But 
when  he  only  says  "  Wash  and  be  clean,"  he  is 
regarded  as  a  dealer  in  fooleries,  and  his  message 
rejected  with  scorn.     But  we  are  to  remark — ■ 


*ynA  THE  WISDOM  OF 

Thirdly:  That  those  very  characteristics  of 
the  Gospel,  which  draw  upon  it  this  odium,  show 
the  wisdom  of  God  in  the  plan  of  salvation. 

The  wisdom  of  God  appears  in  the  doctrine  of 
the  cross.  We  now  know  enough  of  man  to  per- 
ceive that  any  system  which  would  amend  his 
moral  character  and  condition,  must  be  one  that 
reverses  all  his  bad  qualities  and  propensities. 
His  state  will  never  be  bettered  by  that  course  of 
training  which  educates  his  depravity,  which 
elicits  into  action  the  native  corruptions  of  his 
heart,  and  which  permits  all  his  evil  passions  to 
flow  on  in  their  proper  channel.  The  discipline 
which  is  to  benefit  him,  must  throw  a  curb  upon 
his  licentiousness,  must  plant  a  guard  in  the  path 
of  his  wickedness,  must  interpose  its  veto  upon  all 
the  sinful  tendencies  of  his  nature.  Such  moral 
provisions  as  these  are  admirably  embraced  in 
the  doctrine  of  the  cross.  It  reads  a  lecture  upon 
pride  and  ambition  which  the  believing  mind  can 
never  forget.  It  expresses  the  malignant  nature 
of  sin,  with  a  force  and  emphasis  which  must 
vibrate  for  ever  upon  the  tenderest  cords  of  the 
heart. 

But  the  cross  of  Christ  is  not  to  be  regarded  as 
a  mere  moral  remedy.  It  is  the  expedient  which 
the  wisdom  of  God  devised  as  a  propitiation  for 
sin.  We  are  not  allowed  to  say  that  it  is  the  only 
one  that  could  have  been  devised.     We  are  un- 


GOD  IN  SALVATION.  Qgff 

able  to  affirm  that  God  could  not  have  exercised 
mercy  in  any  other  way.     On  such  a  subject  it 
does  not  become  us  to  say  what  he  could  or  could 
not  do.     It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  what  He  has 
actually  done.     From  what  He   has   told  us  in 
relation  to  this  great  matter,  we  may  believe  that 
in  a  certain  sense,  the  expiation  of  sin  by  the 
blood  of  Christ  was  necessary.     To  what  extent 
the  necessity  of  the  measure  existed,  we  short- 
sighted mortals  cannot  determine.    It  seems  to  us 
that  the  introduction  of  sin  into  the  world,  made 
it  necessary  that  either  man  or  justice  should 
DIE.     Man  died  in  the  person  of  the  incarnate 
Saviour,  and  therefore  justice  lives ;  and  he  that 
died   became  "  a  hiding-place  from  the  wind,  a 
covert  from  the  tempest,  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry 
place,  and  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary 
land." 

In  reserving  to  his  own  will  and  agency  the  ap- 
plication and  provision  of  mercy,  God  has  mani- 
fested a  wisdom  worthy  of  himself.  We  perceive 
from  constant  observation,  that  the  great  cause  of 
infidelity  among  men,  is  the  rejection  of  God  from 
the  world's  government.  They  disallow  the  idea 
of  his  interference  in  the  affairs  of  men.  They 
lie  imbedded  in  sense  and  stupidity,  contented 
with  the  secondary  causes  which  surround  them, 
and  disregarding  the  one  great  Cause  that  moves 
and  directs  all  things.    It  is  therefore  reasonable 

31* 


2QQ  THE  WISDOM  OF 

to  believe  that  a  plan  formed  by  Infinite  Wisdom, 
in  order  to  bring  back  his  apostate  creatures, 
would  make  it  a  primary  object  to  restore  the 
forgotten  presence  of  God  to  the  mind  of  such 
creatures;  to  bring  up  and  re-enforce  the  ne- 
glected doctrine  of  his  particular  Providence  ;  to 
show  their  dependence  upon  him,  and  subjection 
to  him  ;  and  to  make  it  evident  that  their  whole 
destiny  hangs  upon  his  single  pleasure.  Under 
such  an  apprehension  we  are  prepared  to  become 
reconciled  to  the  doctrine  of  all-sufficient  grace. 
We  can  perceive  the  wisdom  with  which  God 
reserves  to  himself  the  increase  of  goodness  and 
success  to  all  the  ministrations  of  his  word  ;  and 
why  it  is  that,  though  Paul  may  plant  and  Apollos 
water,  it  is  God  that  giveth  the  increase. 

The  wisdom  of  God  in  salvation  is  in  nothing 
more  evident,  than  in  the  magnificence  of  the 
effects  which  result  from  causes,  to  our  apprehen- 
sion, simple  and  unpromising.  The  whole  process 
of  nature  is  conducted  upon  this  plan  of  beautiful 
simplicity.  Who  that  had  not  seen  it,  could  ever 
believe  that  the  dry  seeds  committed  to  the  dry 
clods  of  the  earth,  would  result  in  all  the  abun- 
dance of  fruitful  fields  and  ample  harvests  ?  Who 
could  imagine,  from  the  nature  of  the  thing  itself, 
that  by  the  mysterious  process  of  evaporation,  the 
whole  atmosphere  can  be  surcharged  with  those 
light  and  floating  particles,  which,  being  united 


GOD  IN  SALVATION.  OQ>y 

and  condensed,  fall  in  refreshing  showers  upon 
the  earth?  What  mind  can  imagine  a  prin- 
ciple of  causation,  by  which  the  constant  ac- 
tion of  the  surrounding  air,  gives  life  to  all  ani- 
mals and  plants  ?  The  magnificence  of  the  whole 
creation  is  produced  and  sustained  by  the  most 
simple  causes.  Human  works  are  achieved  at  a 
great  expense  of  labour,  and  with  a  great  multi- 
plicity of  moving  causes.  A  complex  contrivance 
is  necessary  to  produce  an  attenuated  thread, 
which,  after  all,  cannot  rival  that  of  the  spider  or 
the  silk-worm. 

The  most  common  and  obvious  analogies,  there- 
fore, prepare  us  to  welcome  the  simplicity  of  the 
Gospel  method  of  salvation.  The  Saviour  himself 
announced  the  concise  way  of  salvation.  "  He 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved." 
His  apostles  followed  up  the  plan,  and  in  answer 
to  the  most  affecting  inquiry,  simply  said,  "Repent 
and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you."  Be  cautious, 
then,  lest  you  despise  as  foolish  that  preaching 
which  proposes  a  simple  way  of  dehverance  from 
the  power  of  sin,  and  of  translation  into  the  king- 
dom of  light  and  purity.  Beware,  lest  you  be 
found  fighting  against  God,  by  seeking  means  and 
ways  of  ultimate  felicity,  other  than  that  which 
his  wisdom  has  brought  into  operation. 


SERMON  XXI. 

ON  ASSURANCE. 

Lam.  iii.  24. — The  Lord  is  my  portion,  saith  my  soul. 

In  the  mere  contemplation  of  grandeur  and 
opulence,  the  mind  is  sensible  of  an  active  excite- 
ment. The  lively  emotions  which  it  feels,  are  not 
the  less  perceptible  because  they  may  happen  to 
be  fixed  to  no  distinct  object.  Let  a  man  of  ordi- 
nary apprehensions  be  suddenly  transported  to 
some  elevation  which  gives  an  extensive  view  of 
the  surrounding  country ;  let  him  see  at  one  glance 
the  improvements  which  the  arts  of  civilised  life 
have  thrown  over  the  prospect ;  in  one  part,  agri- 
culture is  pouring  its  varied  satisfactions  upon  the 
earnest  avidity  of  the  husbandman ;  in  another, 
the  smile  of  cities,  and  the  sanguine  visage  of  in- 
dustry meet  his  eye.  Cold  must  be  his  heart  if 
it  be  not  moved  at  the  sight  of  that  which  impels 
in  its  course  the  enjoyments  and  hopes  dear  to 
man.  But  his  sensations  would  be  very  different, 
if  in  the  midst  of  his  deliberate  view,  some  indu- 


ON  ASSURANCE.  QgQ 

bitable  intelligencer  could  interpose  an  assurance 
that  a  large  portion  of  the  wealth  and  splendour, 
on  which  his  attention  lingered,  was  his  own  by 
an  unalienable  title,  that  he  was  known  and  ac- 
knowledged as  proprietor  of  most  that  was  in- 
cluded in  that  rich  and  happy  district,  that  the 
time  was  near  when  he  should  enter  upon  the 
possession  of  his  inheritance,  and  that  his  actual 
joys  should  far  exceed  all  his  anticipations.  In  the 
light  of  this  illustration  we  may  perceive  the  supe- 
rior benefits  of  Christian  assurance.  It  may  kin- 
dle a  warmth  of  feeling  in  our  hearts  to  view  the 
transcendent  glories  of  religion,  which  illuminate 
the  prospects  of  others,  and  though  we  can  assert 
no  claim  of  personal  inheritance,  we  may  be  filled 
with  admiration  at  a  felicity  which  some  must 
enjoy.  But  how  must  it  change  our  feelings,  when 
we  survey  with  an  eye  that  cannot  deceive  us,  an 
approaching  glory  which  will  dispel  in  a  moment 
all  the  gloom  of  our  ignorance,  will  preclude  the 
possibility  of  future  sorrow,  and  shed  the  transport 
of  ineffable  bliss  on  an  endless  duration  of  our 
being ! 

A  defective  assurance  should  be  regarded  by 
us  as  a  deep  affliction.  Without  a  confidence  of 
personal  interest,  the  promises  of  the  Gospel  have 
no  expression  or  delight;  since  whatever  they 
speak,  and  whatever  they  certify,  will  be  devoid 
of  meaning  to  us.     It  would  only  serve  to  exaspe- 


370  ON  ASSURANCE. 

rate  the  agony  of  our  despair  to  view  scenes  upon 
which  we  could  not  expect  to  enter,  and  to  read 
the  history  of  consolations  of  which  we  could  not 
taste.  Many  imagine  that  the  position  which  they 
occupy  betwixt  exulting  confidence  and  rending 
despair,  is  an  intermediate  point  happily  selected, 
and  therefore  to  be  strictly  maintained.  The  pre- 
sumption that  would  arrogate  merit,  and  the  de- 
spondency that  would  paralise  exertion,  they  think 
wholly  excluded  from  their  secure  mediocrity  of 
religious  standing.  They  accordingly  never  view 
it  as  an  evil  that  they  fall  so  short  of  the  realising 
apprehensions  which  belong  to  the  more  matured 
exercises  of  Christian  experience,  but  console 
themselves  under  the  absence  of  such  apprehen- 
sions, with  the  fancied  prudence  that  they  have 
exercised  in  taking  their  stand  upon  middle  ground. 
So  long  as  they  can  deem  it  wise  to  live  under  the 
dim  twilight  of  an  imperfect  persuasion,  it  is  quite 
obvious  that  no  steps  will  be  taken  towards  the  ef- 
fulgence of  clearer  manifestations.  Error  is  never 
more  confirmed  than  when,  by  the  aid  of  false 
reasoning,  it  assumes  the  appearance  of  caution 
and  wisdom.  But  could  they  be  convinced  that 
their  favourite  position  is  untenable  upon  any 
scripture  principles,  that  every  defect  in  the  mea- 
sure of  their  assurance  is  an  affliction  to  be  depre- 
cated, and  not  a  privilege  to  be  sought,  they  might 
be  conducted  into  a  way  of  hopeful  diligence  and 


ON  ASSURANCE.  Qiy| 

activity.  And  what  can  lead  them  more  directly 
to  such  a  conviction  than  the  alarming  considera- 
tion that  the  ample  lustre  and  benignity  of  the  di- 
vine promises  do  not  fall  within  the  compass  of 
their  imaginary  faith  ?  To  bring  them  to  the  test 
we  may  select  any  of  the  promises  of  future  bles- 
sedness. "  The  righteous  shall  shine  as  the  bright- 
ness of  the  firmament ;"  but  they  are  not  half  cer- 
tain that  they  are  righteous,  the  promise  therefore 
has  no  significancy  to  them.  "  They  shall  be  mine, 
saith  the  Lord,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up  my 
jewels;"  but  the  characters  in  question,  are  far 
from  any  consistent  evidence  that  they  are  jewels ; 
the  cheering  declaration,  therefore,  passes  over 
them  without  an  impression,  as  the  torrent  over 
the  rock.  Christ  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his 
saints,  and  admired  in  them  that  believe ;  but  are 
they  saints,  do  they  believe  ?  Should  the  same 
applications  be  made  throughout  the  whole  extent 
of  those  promises  which  contain  the  assurance  of 
eternal  life,  we  should  see  that  they  impart  their 
sweets  only  to  the  heart  invigorated  with  the  re- 
quisite confidence  of  its  own  witness. 

The  advocates  of  experimental  religion  do  an 
injury  to  the  cause  which  they  espouse,  when  by 
their  injudicious  concessions  they  allow  to  the  full 
extent  the  claims  of  those  who  bring  little  else 
than  their  doubts  to  prove  their  title  to  salvation, 
and  urge  little  else  than  their  uncertainty  about 


Oiyo  ON  ASSURANCE. 

all  religion,  to  authenticate  their  professions.  The 
enemies  of  the  Gospel  may  very  plausibly  allege, 
that  it  is  time  to  throw  off  the  restraints  of  a  sys- 
tem which  only  bewilders  the  mind  in  the  mazes 
of  uncertainty,  which  gives  nothing  positive  and 
definite,  which  makes  it  a  virtue  to  distrust  its 
own  representations,  and  conveys  to  its  adherents 
a  gloomy  aggregate  of  suspense  and  unavailing 
care.  A  well-meaning  but  unwise  policy  has  led 
many  into  the  error  which  we  would  now  expose. 
They  have  been  consulted  by  the  doubting  and  the 
weak,  and  instead  of  applying  the  proper  remedy 
to  their  disease,  have  strengthened  it  by  improper 
prescriptions.  Their  theological  emollients  impart- 
ing a  superficial  alleviation,  have  not  affected  the 
source  of  the  existing  infirmity.  An  imperfect  assu- 
rance is  a  spiritual  disease,  and  cannot  find  a  cure 
in  that  which  rather  cherishes  and  countenances  it. 
For  those  labouring  under  the  influence  of  this 
spiritual  debility,  to  be  informed  that  their  case  is 
by  no  means  incompatible  with  a  gracious  and 
regenerate  state,  that  whatever  may  be  the  cer- 
tainty of  salvation  in  its  own  admirable  provisions, 
the  application  of  these  provisions  to  individuals 
may  be  involved  in  extreme  doubt,  that  the  want 
of  more  confidence  should  not  be  the  cause  of  un- 
easiness, and  that  many  have  lived  and  died  ge- 
nuine Christians,  without  being  previously  aware 
of  the   felicity  to  which  they  were  destined — by 


ON  ASSURANCE.  Qi^^ 

such  a  representation  as  this,  security  is  added  to 
doubting,  and  that  vacillating  temper  which  should 
have  been  regarded  as  incidental  only  to  the  inci- 
piency  of  grace,  or  to  its  declining  vigour,  is  made 
to  appear  either  meritorious  or  inoffensive. 

It  vi^ill  be  alleged  in  extenuation  of  what  we 
here  condemn,  that  the  honest  scruples  of  weak 
consciences  require  a  tender  and  delicate  treat- 
ment, and  that  it  would  be  unfeeling  to  impose  the 
severe  requirements  of  rehgion  upon  their  trem- 
bling and  afflicted  spirits.  The  claims  of  feeling 
and  tenderness  we  shall  never  disallow,  and  as 
little  should  we  be  disposed  to  resort  to  expedients 
of  a  harshness  not  required  by  the  word  of  God — 
but  we  humbly  think  that  the  right  way  is  always 
best,  and  that  the  kindest  treatment  for  any  ma- 
lady is  that  which  will  produce  the  earliest  cure. 
Mistaken  lenity  becomes  cruel  in  the  end,  and 
leads  to  disastrous  results.  The  injury  done  to 
religion  itself,  by  the  encouragement  of  doubt,  is 
far  greater  than  that  which  any  of  its  wavering 
adherents  could  ever  sustain,  by  having  enforced 
upon  them  its  just  demands.  But  we  contend  that 
so  far  from  being  injurious,  it  is  the  only  security 
from  ruinous  delusions  to  bring  every  man's  expe- 
rience to  the  proper  test.  The  sooner  the  votaries 
of  deception  are  driven  from  their  spurious  faith 
the  better,  and  though  it  may  disquiet  them  to  be 

32 


Qiyj^  ON  ASSURANCE. 

suddenly  roused  from  their  long  repose  of  error, 
the  trouble  may  prove  seasonable  and  salutary. 

The  perseverance  of  the  saints  will  be  divested 
of  its  consolations  without  the  assuring  testimony 
of  a  renewed  nature.  To  the  lovers  of  divine 
truth,  the  doctrine  which  asserts  beyond  contra- 
diction the  ultimate  safety  of  the  righteous,  has 
ever  been  the  source  of  clear  and  consistent  satis- 
factions. That  it  should  have  been  revealed  with 
a  lustre  so  bright  and  convincing,  is  an  evidence 
of  the  benevolent  designs  of  the  Spirit  to  refresh 
and  cheer  our  weary  souls  in  their  pilgrimage. 
But  it  will  be  obvious  that,  without  assurance,  per- 
severance is  nothing.  Our  continuation  in  a  par- 
ticular way  can  only  be  the  occasion  of  joy,  when 
we  know  that  it  is  the  right  way.  Hence  there 
is  a  manifest  want  of  integrity  in  the  creed  of  those 
who  maintain  perseverance,  and  deny  the  neces- 
sity of  assurance.  The  doctrine  of  election  equally 
needs  the  decisive  voice  of  personal  assurance  to 
confer  an  import  of  peace  and  delight  on  him  who 
believes  it.  This  doctrine  in  the  mouth  of  one 
who  has  attained  no  certainty  as  to  his  own  salva- 
tion, is  utterly  without  meaning.  To  such  a  one 
it  is  an  impious  intrusion  into  a  sacred  province, 
an  abuse  of  holy  terms,  an  arrogant  assumption  of 
another's  right  to  act  upon  any  statements  of  this 
doctrine.     God  has  wisely  drawn  a  veil  over  all 


ON  ASSURANCE.  Qi^'K 

the  distinctions  which  election  makes  in  the  pre- 
sent lot  of  man.  He  has  opened  his  secret  vo- 
lume to  none  living.  The  mysterious  roll  hides 
from  mortal  apprehension  the  diversities  in  the 
fates  of  men.  That  there  is  such  an  arrangement 
in  his  wise  and  holy  counsels,  He  has  left  only  to 
one  class  of  people  to  know,  and  this  knowledge 
to  be  acquired  only  in  one  way.  The  class  to 
which  this  mystery  is  developed  are  his  own  peo- 
ple, and  the  method  of  disclosure  the  assurance  of 
indwelling  grace.  As  they  are  the  only  legitimate 
heirs  of  this  doctrine,  no  other  class  has  a  right  to 
it,  because  no  other  can  make  a  proper  use  of  it. 
They  who  enjoy  this  transporting  heritage  through 
the  medium  of  an  individual  confidence,  that  they 
have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  will  never  per- 
vert the  doctrine.  They  can  never  contemplate 
its  merciful  provisions,  without  hearing  the  echo 
of  holiness  to  the  Lord,  which  resounds  from  its 
every  feature.  To  them  it  is  the  pledge  of  feli- 
city, and  the  motive  to  sanctification.  It  clears 
up  all  the  intricate  conduct  of  Providence,  and 
pours  its  streams  of  glory  along  the  glowing  re- 
gions of  immortality. 

The  course  of  Christian  duty  often  lies  through 
trying  acts  of  self-denial  and  sacrifices  of  secular 
interest.  It  requires  that  we  esteem  the  reproach 
of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  the 
world,  that  we  enter  undismayed,  the  furnace  of 


Qiyg  ON  ASSURANCE. 

affliction,  that  we  stand  ready  to  brave  the  frowns 
of  the  world,  and  the  derisions  of  ungodly  men, 
that  we  resolutely  withstand  the  formidable  array 
which  our  spiritual  foes  will  set  in  order  against 
us,  and  finally  that  we  go  down  fearlessly  into  the 
dark  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  there 
grapple  with  hideous  forms  of  dissolution.  Where 
will  be  our  sufficiency  for  these  things,  unless  we 
have  respect  to  the  recompense  of  the  reward  ? 
and  how  can  this  grand  remuneration  comfort  us, 
without  the  firm  persuasion  of  the  Saviour's  love  ? 
One  of  the  constituent  parts  of  vital  religion  is 
experience.  This  is  the  sensible  result  of  a  divine 
operation  in  our  hearts.  It  causes  a  general 
movement  in  our  dormant  faculties.  It  is  the  re- 
duction of  theory  into  fact,  the  change  of  opinion 
into  impulse,  the  improvement  of  speculation  into 
reality.  It  is  a  new  consent  among  the  jarring 
attributes  of  the  soul,  a  perception  sublime  and  vi- 
gorous, of  heavenly  things.  It  is  the  image  which 
the  word  impresses  upon  the  yielding  heart,  and 
is  so  vivid  in  the  light  which  it  conveys  to  the 
mind,  that  it  must  be  difficult  for  any  one  to  re- 
main unconscious  of  its  quickening  energy.  The 
connexion  between  such  experience,  and  a  happy 
assurance  of  soul,  cannot  escape  even  a  superficial 
observer.  For  it  is  in  experience  that  religion 
speaks  within  us.  Here  it  has  the  voice  of  words, 
and  the  struggle  of  an  earnest  passion;  it  rolls 


ON  ASSURANCE.  ^>y>'^ 

back  the  tide  of  the  affections,  and  forms  new  dis- 
tinctions for  the  mental  eye.  And  it  might  be- 
come matter  of  much  astonishment  to  us,  that 
such  hvely  actings  could  take  place  in  a  soul 
which  still  remained  insensible  of  the  inward  com- 
motion. Strange  would  it  appear  that  the  flesh 
and  spirit  should  be  at  war  with  each  other,  and 
we  not  aware  of  the  strife ;  that  the  heart  should 
pant  for  the  streams  of  salvation,  and  we  remain 
insensible  of  the  thirst,  and  that  self-abhorrence 
should  lay  us  in  the  dust,  and  we  feel  not  the  low- 
liness of  the  position. 

It  must  be  carefully  noted  from  what  we  have 
advanced,  that  assurance  has  its  proper  measure. 
It  rises  no  higher  than  its  fountain,  but  ought 
always  to  rise  as  high  as  that.  The  source  of  all 
proper  confidence,  is  found  in  the  preparation  and 
sanctity  of  the  heart.  The  progress  of  grace  in 
the  heart  should  be  attended  with  a  proportionate 
augmentation  of  assurance.  The  more  heavenly- 
minded  we  are,  the  more  decisive  must  become 
our  manifestations  of  approaching  glory.  Some, 
I  fear,  assume  the  style  of  assured  believers, 
whilst  they  come  dreadfully  short  in  personal 
holiness.  They  vainly  imagine,  that  because  they 
take  an  elevated  stand  in  verbal  confidence,  that 
they  must  be  under  a  right  frame ;  and  by  fre- 
quent assertions  of  their  fictitious  security,  bring 
themselves  to  believe  that  what  they  affirm  must 
,  32* 


OiyO  ON  ASSURANCE. 

be  true.  But  if  the  illustration  which  we  have 
adopted  be  correct,  that  the  actual  experience  of 
godly  emotions  within  is  the  only  proper  source 
of  assurance,  and  that  the  stream  cannot  rise 
higher  than  the  fountain,  then  these  pretenders  to 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  are  awfully  deceived. 
They  have  indeed  expected  to  alter  their  dimen- 
sions, by  standing  on  the  heights  of  positiveness, 
but  they  should  remember  that, 

"  Pigmies  are  pigmies  still,  though  perch'd  on  Alps." 

We  hear  with  delight  the  positive  declaration 
of  one  whose  life  has  been  formed  upon  a  heavenly 
rule,  and  who  stands  as  high  in  the  maturity  of  his 
graces,  as  in  the  air  of  his  holy  boldness.  We 
need  the  aid  of  no  patience  to  endure  the  affirma- 
tions of  his  lips,  whilst  we  discover  the  correspon- 
dence betwixt  his  life  and  his  words.  But  it  is 
more  than  disgusting  to  listen  to  the  idle  prattling 
of  those  who  are  strenuous  only  in  words,  who 
demand  credit  to  their  assertions  of  meetness  for 
heaven,  whilst  they  are  sensual  and  devilish,  who 
flutter  in  the  brightest  plumage  of  profession,  but 
never  soar  beyond  a  sinister  end,  or  a  treacherous 
dissimulation.  These  sturdy  usurpers  of  a  pious 
name,  have  thrown  discredit  upon  the  subject  of 
assurance,  and  have  made  it  rather  invidious  for 
those  who  have  a  warrantable  claim  to  the  cha- 
racter to  make  it  known. 


ON  ASSURANCE.  ^i^Q 

Finally.  Of  all  privileges,  that  under  considera- 
tion is  the  highest.  It  confers  the  proper  finish 
on  the  believer's  character.  It  brings  the  largest 
portion  of  heaven  into  the  soul ;  it  forms  a  support 
to  the  rectitude  of  the  mind,  and  ennobles  it  with 
a  holy  ambition.  It  is  a  state  of  pious  vs^ealth, 
which  could  not  be  augmented  if  the  world  were 
added  to  it,  nor  lessened  if  the  world  were  gone. 


# 


SERMON    XXII. 


RELIGIOUS   CONVERSATION. 


Mai.  iii.  16. — Then  Ihey  that  feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to 

another. 


Few  persons  are  so  dull  as  not  to  have  per- 
ceived the  benefit  of  conversation.  Thought, 
w^hen  confined  to  our  own  breasts,  and  shut  up 
within  the  recesses  of  its  native  abode,  remains 
inert  and  unproductive.  To  make  it  useful  it 
must  be  clothed  in  the  garb  of  speech,  and 
bounded  in  by  the  limits  of  intelligible  expression. 
How  rich  soever  it  may  be  in  the  mine,  unless  it 
be  coined  into  words,  it  will  impart  its  salutary 
influence  to  none,  and  will  remain  an  unexplored 
mass  locked  up  in  dark  caverns.  Our  thoughts, 
when  communicated  to  others,  are  more  deeply 
impressed  upon  our  own  minds.  If  we  suppress 
them,  we  are  but  little  the  better  for  having  had 
them;  but  if  we  send  them  out  to  be  enjoyed  by 
others,  they  return  with  interest  to  us,  and  are 


RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION. 


381 


more  securely  lodged  in  the  heart  where  they 
originated. 

In  religious  conversation,  the  expression  and 
interchange  of  thought  are  peculiarly  important. 
The  heart  of  a  pious  man  is  the  seat  of  operations 
which  heaven  and  earth  might  view  with  deep 
interest.  The  history  of  his  experience,  drawn 
with  minute  and  discriminating  care,  shows  the 
struggle  of  contending  powers,  and  the  methods 
of  that  grace  which  will  at  last  gain  the  victory. 
What  intelligence,  then,  can  be  more  interesting 
than  that  which  comes  from  the  inward  man, 
where  the  concerns  of  another  world  are  agitated ; 
where  Jesus  holds  his  reign,  and  Satan  directs  his 
assaults;  where  time  and  eternity  are  competi- 
tors for  the  chief  place ;  and  whence  a  result, 
comprising  eternal  interests,  will  be  soon  evolved. 

Show  me  the  man  that  fears  the  Lord.  I  love 
to  hear  him  speak.  There  is  a  grace  upon  his 
lips,  and  a  seasoning  in  his  words,  which  impart 
their  virtues  to  my  soul.  I  love  his  speech,  be- 
cause he  tells  me  of  a  better  country,  awakens 
my  solicitude  to  join  his  holy  march  towards  that 
happy  home,  and  confirms  my  tottering  footsteps 
in  the  way.  I  love  his  conversation,  because  he 
reconciles  my  mind  to  the  troubles  and  sad  events 
of  this  life,  by  directing  me  to  that  better  and 
enduring  substance  which  God  has  reserved  for 
those  who  fear  him.    I  take  pleasure  in  his  words, 


OQ2  RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION. 

because  he  is  kind  in  his  admonitions,  courteous 
in  all  his  intercourse  with  me,  a  gentle  reprover 
of  my  error,  and  the  sincere  friend  of  my  soul. 
I  prize  his  conversation,  because  it  makes  Christ 
All  in  All,  brings  nearer  to  my  mind  the  distant 
things  of  the  invisible  world,  and  respects  God  as 
the  presiding  Power  that  witnesses  and  judges  my 
whole  life. 

We  look  upon  the  text  as  affording  a  very  pro- 
per foundation  for  a  few  observations  on  religious 
conversation.  Of  this  be  pleased  to  notice,  1. 
The  class  of  subjects  suited  to  it ;  2.  The  bene- 
ficial effects  of  it. 

All  those  topics,  the  right  view  of  which  helps 
to  vindicate  the  ways  of  God,  are  proper  for  re- 
peated conversation.  In  the  days  of  the  prophet 
who  uttered  the  text,  the  proud  were  called  happy. 
Bad  men  were  exalted  to  eminent  stations,  and 
piety  and  goodness  were  cast  off  to  languish  in 
obscurity  and  indigence.  There  was  then  a  sad 
depression  in  the  tone  of  public  morals.  The 
authority  of  God  was  disregarded ;  his  ways  were 
accounted  unequal  and  oppressive,  and  every 
form  of  sin  was  either  openly  justified  or  secretly 
palliated.  A  state  of  things  like  this,  supplied  a 
topic  of  conversation  for  the  few  good  men  who 
thought  upon  the  ways  of  the  Lord.  The  same 
subject  of  reflection  is  never  wanting  to  the  good 
men  of  any  period.    The  haters  of  God  are  ordi- 


RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION.  qQ«| 

narily  those  who  obtain  worldly  promotion,  who 
glory  in  temporal  successes,  who  climb  the  highest 
eminences  of  honour,  and  shout  with  the  wildest 
uproar  of  present  victory.  Why  should  this  be 
the  case  ?  is  a  question  which  the  humble  followers 
of  Christ  may  agitate  among  themselves.  Let 
them  confer  upon  this  seeming  mystery  in  (he 
order  of  Providence,  and  they  will  soon  cease 
to  envy  those  who  become  great.  They  will  aid 
each  other  in  resolving  the  whole  matter  into  a 
wise  and  righteous  course  of  dealing.  By  com- 
paring their  views  and  observations  as  derived 
from  Scripture,  they  will  be  conducted  to  the  cer- 
tain conclusion,  that  the  Lord's  equalising  Provi- 
dence will  soon  press  down  those  towering  vani- 
ties which  for  a  moment  appear  to  insult  his  name 
and  majesty,  and  to  tread  down  all  that  is  good 
and  holy.  At  the  same  time  he  will  remember 
his  covenant  of  grace  and  mercy  with  his  people, 
and  will  raise  them  from  the  dust  of  affliction. 
"  Then  shall  ye  return  and  discern  betwixt  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked,  betwixt  him  that 
serveth  God,  and  him  that  serveth  him  not." 

The  discouragements  which  all  must  meet  who 
undertake  the  service  of  God  and  a  life  of  piety, 
may  be  frequently  brought  into  conversatien.  It 
is  not  expedient  for  us  to  pine  in  secret  on  account 
of  the  little  success  of  grace  and  holiness  in  our 
hearts.    You  have  burdened  hearts,  and  so  have 


QOJ^  RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION. 

I.  To  you  the  way  of  duty  often  appears  steep 
and  difficult ;  and  to  me  it  has  the  same  aspect. 
We  are  fellow-prisoners  within  the  walls  of  flesh 
and  blood,  and  should  therefore  hasten  to  mitigate 
the  misery  of  those  bonds  which  make  our  con- 
finement galling  and  afflictive.  We  are  fellow- 
captives  in  the  land  of  an  insulting  foe ;  and 
though  we  may  be  able  to  render  to  each  other 
no  aid  other  than  our  sympathies,  yet  these  pro- 
perly administered  will  have  their  use.  Though 
we  cannot  tune  our  harps  to  the  notes  of  praise, 
we  can  at  least  come  together  and  weep  whilst 
we  hang  them  upon  the  willows.  We  can  recount 
our  common  conflicts,  toils  and  sorrows.  We  can 
exhort  one  another  daily,  whilst  it  is  called  to-day, 
lest  any  of  us  be  hardened  through  the  deceitful- 
ness  of  sin.  You  have  often  to  lament  a  hard, 
unbeheving  heart,  a  mind  which  seems  to  be  the 
lodge  of  vain  thoughts,  an  indifference  which 
paralyses  all  good  effort.  Your  tale  of  wo  is  true 
of  me.  I  am  your  brother  and  companion  in  tri- 
bulation. 

Such  views  as  strengthen  and  excite  weak  and 
wavering  piety,  should  be  blended  with  religious 
discourse.  How  good  is  a  word  spoken  in  season 
to  one  struggling  with  painful  solicitude  against 
doubt  and  fear  !  Your  own  recollection  can  sup- 
ply many  instances  in  which  you  have  felt  the 
kindly  influences  of  cheering  counsel  in  yourselves, 


RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION.  QOK 

or  else  have  seen  its  results  in  the  case  of  others. 
I  remember  a  case  which  occm'red  in  a  place 
where  I  ministered  for  some  years  the  word  of 
God.  Amongst  my  hearers  was  a  man  who  had 
been  much  devoted  to  the  pleasures  and  gayeties 
of  hfe.  The  word  of  God,  accompanied  with 
sanctified  affliction,  took  effect  upon  his  mind, 
and  his  convictions  became  deep  and  disquieting. 
His  spirits  were  greatly  depressed  on  account  of 
the  dismal  picture  of  his  situation  which  he  drew 
in  his  own  mind.  No  preaching,  or  praying,  or 
conversation,  could  bring  any  consoling  sugges- 
tions to  his  wounded  spirit.  Meeting  him  unex- 
pectedly one  day,  and  bearing  in  mind  his  constant 
dejection,  I  looked  steadily  at  his  face  for  a  few 
seconds,  and  then  said  to  him  in  a  firm  tone,  "J 
have  no  douht  that  God  loves  you^  The  start- 
ing tear  was  the  only  expression  that  he  then 
made  in  the  form  of  a  reply.  The  next  time  I  met 
him,  he  thus  addressed  me,  "  Your  declaration  the 
other  day  rather  confounded  me  for  the  moment ; 
but  I  have  since  thought  much  of  it,  and  have 
tried  to  find  reason  to  douht  that  of  which  you 
professed  to  have  no  doubt.  I  can  no  longer  find 
sufficient  reason  to  doubt,  and  am  now  persuaded 
to  believe  that  God  does  love  me.  My  happiness 
under  this  belief  surpasses  all  expression."  That 
man  still  goes  on  his  way  rejoicing. 

Admonitory  intimations  should  be  mingled  with 

33 


386 


RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION. 


encouragement  and  comfort.  You  cannot  stand 
off  at  a  little  distance,  and  contemplate  yourselves 
just  as  others  view  you.  You  cannot  look  at  your- 
selves with  the  eyes  of  an  impartial  spectator.  It 
hence  becomes  very  important  for  you  to  employ 
the  friendly  eyes  of  others  to  examine  your  car- 
riage and  deportment,  and  to  make  a  faithful  re- 
turn to  you.  Permit  them  to  report  to  you  the 
result  of  their  observations,  and  to  converse  freely 
and  fully  with  you  on  the  most  delicate  questions 
of  personal  conduct.  You  will  be  surprised  to 
find  how  much  you  can  learn  in  this  way  from  the 
feeblest  member  in  the  church.  Did  the  spirit  of 
gentle,  affectionate,  and  winning  correction  more 
distinguish  Christian  intercourse,  we  should  see 
much  better  times  in  religion,  than  any  ever  yet 
witnessed.  It  is  a  foolish  pride  that  bristles  up 
into  resentment  upon  every  hint  of  disapprobation 
of  what  we  do.  It  would  surely  be  better  in 
every  case  to  have  our  faults,  whatever  they  may 
be,  kindly  pointed  out  to  us,  and  for  us  to  correct 
them,  than  for  them  to  remain  upon  us,  accom- 
panied with  discredit  and  desertion  from  the  wise 
and  good.  Let  it  then  be  a  part  of  our  discourse 
with  each  other,  to  minister  the  salutary  and  heal- 
ing corrections  of  mutual  reproof 

Secondly.     We  are  to  notice  the  beneficial  re- 
sults of  religious  conversation.        *- 
'    Its  influence  in  promoting  brotherly  love  must 


RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION.  QOi^ 

be  apparent  to  every  one.  Those  who  frequently 
confer  with  each  other  about  those  matters  in 
which  there  is  a  common  feehng  of  interest,  must 
of  necessity  acquire  a  closer  fellowship  than  that 
which  can  exist  in  the  absence  of  such  relations. 
And  when  the  nature  of  their  common  concern  is 
such  as  to  preclude  competition,  jealousy,  and  the 
love  of  pre-eminence,  and  to  cherish  mutual  re- 
spect and  kindness,  we  can  readily  discover  that 
conversation  will  tend  greatly  to  confirm  their 
union.  Their  friendly  discourse  will  draw  closer 
the  bond  of  unity,  will  bring  to  a  greater  uniformity 
their  thoughts  and  words,  and  will  help  to  har- 
monise every  discordant  feeling.  Converse  more 
fully  and  more  freely,  then,  ye  friends  of  the  Lord, 
upon  all  those  topics  which  promote  holy  know- 
ledge, and  you  will  the  more  love  one  another ; 
your  hearts  will  be  brought  more  entirely  under 
the  sway  of  those  gentle  and  tender  feelings  which 
sweeten  the  society  of  Christians. 

It  is  by  pious  discourse  that  we  stir  up  each 
other's  minds  to  the  recollection  of  neglected 
privileges  and  omitted  duties.  The  good  which 
we  have  is  continually  escaping  us,  through  the 
weakness  of  nature.  It  glides  from  us  whilst  we 
are  occupied  with  the  world;  it  is  buried  amid 
the  mass  of  temporal  cares  and  distractions ;  it  is 
stifled  by  the  press  of  intrusive  vanities.  By  mu- 
tual counsels  and  admonitions  we  become  instru- 


QOO  RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION. 

mental  in  restoring  the  lost  impressions  upon 
hearts  declining  into  coldness  and  sloth,  we  brace 
the  feeble  mind,  and  confirm  the  tottering  knees, 
we  assume  an  attitude  which  favours  the  merciful 
visitation  of  the  divine  Redeemer,  who  never  fails 
to  be  the  companion  of  our  journey,  when  we  talk 
by  the  way  of  those  things  which  relate  to  his 
kingdom. 

Religious  conversation  will  stimulate  your 
minds  in  the  examination  of  truth,  will  aid  in  the 
correction  of  error,  will  direct  to  plans  of  benevo- 
lent effort,  will  help  to  prevent  scandal  and  back- 
biting, will  endear  to  you  the  anticipation  of  that 
heavenly  state  where  the  saints  shall  enjoy  high 
converse  with  the  Lord,  and  with  all  those  who 
love  him. 

It  unites  the  rich  and  the  poor  as  one  family  in 
Christ,  rendering  wealth  and  learning  condescend- 
ing and  humble,  and  exalting  poverty  and  igno- 
rance to  dignity  and  honour.  The  "jPrtrmer'5 
faitli'''  was  that  which  a  dying  monarch  preferred 
to  the  laboured  discussion  of  the  same  subject 
from  the  lips  of  the   Archbishop.*     How  often 

*  The  late  king  of  Sweden  was  deeply  agitated  on  the  subject  of 
his  eternal  interests  just  before  his  death.  A  peasant,  who  was  a  per- 
son of  singular  piety,  being  once  on  a  particular  occasion  admitted  to 
his  presence,  was  asked  by  the  king,  what  he  took  to  be  the  true 
nature  of  faith?  The  peasant  entered  deeply  into  the  subject,  and 
much  to  the  king's  satisfaction.  When  at  last,  lying  on  his  death- 
bed, he  had  a  return  of  his  doubts  and  fears  as  to  the  safety  of  his 


RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION.  QOQ 

have  you  listened  with  dehghtful  emotions  to  the 
artless  and  crude  narratives  of  those  poor  and 
obscure  persons  who  seemed  to  know  scarcely 
any  thing  more  than  that  the  word  of  God  was 
true,  because  its  truth  had  been  felt  by  them ;  and 
their  feelings  had  been  such  as  could  have  been 
produced  by  nothing  short  of  the  affecting  and 
renovating   power   of  the  divine  Word,  accom- 
panied by  the  divine  Spirit.     In  this  way  the  ex- 
perience of  the   servant  has  frequently  brought 
instruction  to  the  master,  the  great  have  found  it 
good  to  lay  aside  their  fancied  importance,  and 
listen  to  the  words  of  the  lowly.     A  proud  fo- 
reigner once  said  to  an  English  gentleman,  who 
had  a   pious   sister   of  superior  refinement   and 
taste,  "  Why  does  your  sister  take  pleasure  in  the 
society  oi  those  low   and  illiterate  people  with 
whom  I  perceive  her  to  converse  frequently?" 
"I  can  account  for  it,"  said  the  gentleman,  "on 
no  other  principle  than  this,  that  she  believes  the 
Bible  to  be  true.'''' 

Rehgious  conversation  is  a  most  profitable  em- 
soul,  the  same  question  was  perpetually  in  his  mouth  :  "  What  is  real 
faith?"  His  attendants  advised  him  to  send  for  the  Archbishop  of 
Upsal,  who,  coming  to  the  king's  bedside,  began  in  a  learned,  logical 
manner  to  enter  into  the  scholastic  definition  of  faith.  The  prelate's 
disquisition  lasted  an  hour.  When  he  had  done,  the  king  said  with 
much  energy,  "All  this  is  ingenious,  but  not  comfortable.  It  is 
not  what  I  want.  Nothing,  after  all,  but  the  farmer's  faith  will  do 
for  me." 

33* 


QQQ  RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION. 

ployment  of  time.  Even  among  the  wise  and  the 
pious,  that  most  valuable  commodity  called  time, 
is  not  duly  regarded.  Its  presence  commands 
little  respect,  and  its  waste  produces  but  little  re- 
gret. Unprofitable  and  idle  conversation  is  one 
of  its  most  unprincipled  and  relentless  consumers ; 
and  one  too,  which  finds  a  place  and  occasion  in 
all  the  affairs  of  life.  An  expenditure  of  time 
worse  than  useless  may  be  witnessed  in  the  mu- 
tual discourses  of  those,  who  think  of  nothing  but 
how  to  throw  out  most  gracefully  the  levities  of 
their  minds,  or  who,  for  the  sake  of  excusing  their 
own  vicious  ways  narrate  with  self-complacency 
the  faults  and  scandals  of  their  neighbours,  or 
who  give  themselves  the  needless  trouble  of  say- 
ing over  again  the  trifles  which  thousands  have 
repeated  their  thousands  of  times,  or  who  use  their 
organs  of  speech  as  if  for  no  other  purpose  than 
to  prove  that  they  possess  them.  But  in  the  pious 
conference  of  the  godly,  there  is  always  some  good 
fruit.  Their  time  is  redeemed  from  waste  and 
prostitution,  and  devoted  to  the  great  purposes  of 
their  being.  They  take  care  that  their  meetings 
and  conversations  shall  be  so  seasoned  with  holy 
counsels,  as  to  make  them  wiser  and  better ;  they 
are  prompt  in  holding  forth  their  light,  that  the 
ignorant  may  walk  by  it,  in  showing  the  founda- 
tion of  their  hopes,  that  the  timid  and  desponding 
may  be  established  by  their  experience,  in  point- 


RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION.  QQI 

iiig  to  the  perils  which  infest  the  paths  of  life,  that 
the  unwary  may  be  cautioned,  and  in  proclaiming 
their  steadfastness  in  the  truth,  that  the  wavering 
may  be  edified. 

Pious  conference  tends  to  smooth  the  natural 
ruggedness  of  our  tempers,  and  to  improve  the 
charitable  dispositions  of  our  hearts.  No  doubt 
can  exist  that  the  pious  of  all  denominations  need 
only  to  know  each  other  in  the  kind  familiarities 
of  friendly  intercourse,  to  bring  them  to  a  general 
uniformity  of  sentiment.  While  they  stand  aloof, 
the  one  from  the  other,  and  in  the  distance  con- 
sider their  differences  either  as  to  theory  or  prac- 
tice, they  are  naturally  tempted  to  magnify  little 
matters  into  occasions  of  controversy  and  uncha- 
ritableness.  In  such  a  case  each  party  regards 
its  opponent  as  unreasonably  tenacious  of  minor 
points,  or  else  as  grievously  erring  upon  cardinal 
doctrines.  Let  them  meet,  and  enter  into  free 
conversation;  let  them  compare  ideas,  and  weigh 
argument  against  argument,  in  all  the  amity  of 
Christian  meekness  and  forbearance,  and  they  will 
find  out  to  their  mutual  surprise  and  gratification, 
that  they  are,  on  both  sides,  more  reasonable  and 
consistent  men  than  they  had  imagined.  And 
though  they  should  not  come  to  the  same  opinion, 
nor  adopt  the  creed,  each  of  the  other,  they  will 
certainly  find  their  mutual  respect  and  good-will 
happily  augmented.    They  will  become  the  better 


QQO  RELIGIOUS  CONVERSATION. 

qualified  to  regard  each  other  as  brethren,  to  in- 
terchange all  the  kindly  offices  of  Christian  bene- 
volence, and  to  co-operate  cordially  in  working 
out  all  those  beneficial  tendencies  involved  in  good 
fellowship. 

I  add,  in  conclusion,  the  interesting  thought, 
that  pious  conference  helps  to  place  and  confirm 
us  in  the  state  of  meetness  for  the  joys  of  heaven. 
We  are  taught  to  regard  the  heavenly  state  as 
consisting  of  one  united  and  undiscordant  brother- 
hood. In  that  perfection  of  life,  there  shall  be  a 
perfection  of  harmony,  leading  on  to  a  lovely  con- 
centration all  the  energies  of  the  redeemed,  in  the 
great  work  of  glorifying  God.  One  heart,  one 
voice,  one  song  of  praise  shall  animate  the  spirits 
of  the  just  made  perfect.  If,  therefore,  we  be 
found  speaking  often  one  to  another,  and  thus  im- 
proving our  gifts  and  graces,  warming  our  love, 
and  raising  our  devotion,  we  shall  find  the  tran- 
sition from  earth  to  heaven,  more  easy  and  agree- 
able. 

Our  heavenly  Father  will  hearken  to  our  dis- 
course, and  will  record  it  in  his  book  of  remem- 
brance. The  good  words  which  we  utter  out  of 
the  abundance  of  the  heart  shall  not  be  forgotten 
in  the  summing  up  of  our  final  history.  Let  us 
therefore  strive  to  be  among  those  of  whom  the 
Lord  hath  said,  "  They  shall  be  mine  in  that  day 
when  I  make  up  my  jewels." 


SERMON   XXIII. 

CONSIDERATIONS  ADDRESSED  TO  THE  AGED. 

Titus  iL  2. — That  the  aged  men  be  sober,  grave,  temperate,  sound  in 
faith,  in  charity,  in  patience. 

Those  of  you,  brethren,  who  tell  half  a  century 
since  your  natal  day,  may  be  fairly  reckoned 
among  the  aged.  The  respective  periods  of  your 
life  may  be  different ;  you  may  have  commenced 
your  progress  in  the  pilgrimage  of  piety  at  distant 
intervals,  and  therefore,  may  possess  different  de- 
grees of  maturity  in  the  experience  of  divine  things; 
but  in  one  important  respect,  you  bear  an  obvious 
similarity.  You  are  approaching  by  a  common 
descent  the  end  of  being.  You  are  common  suf- 
ferers under  those  ills,  reverses,  and  disappoint- 
ments which  weigh  down  the  spirit  of  man,  and 
embitter  the  remaining  joys  of  life.  In  common, 
you  have  seen  the  expectations  of  youth  darken 
into  disappointment,  the  florid  calculations  of  man- 
hood subside  into  the  mummery  of  phantoms,  and 


qg^  CONSIDERATIONS 

the  gay  generation  which  began  Hfe  with  you,  fall 
like  withering  leaves  on  the  ground.  You  have 
outlived  the  hot  emulations,  and  the  angry  strifes 
of  competitors,  and  have  seen  malice  cured  by 
mortality,  and  pride  stained  in  the  dust  of  abase- 
ment. You  have  had  time  to  take  a  dispassionate 
survey  of  the  world,  and  to  find  the  dogmas  of  re- 
ligion and  philosophy  confirmed  by  experience. 

We  wish  to  direct  your  attention,  to  your  pecu- 
liar TRIALS  AND  AFFLICTIONS,  tO  yOUr  PECULIAR 
RESOURCES  AND  CONSOLATIONS,  and  tO  yOUr  PECU- 
LIAR DUTIES  AND  OBLIGATIONS. 

Your  PECULIAR  TRIALS  AND  AFFLICTIONS  rCquirC 

consideration.  In  the  first  place,  you  begin  to 
feel  the  decay  of  your  natural  powers,  and  the 
gradual  approach  of  disease  and  pain.  The  cum- 
brous flesh  with  which  your  living  organs  are 
pressed  down,  already  gives  signs  of  deadness,  and 
lies  upon  you  like  an  inert  mass.  New  maladies 
invade  your  mortal  frame,  new  pains  shake  the 
loosened  joints  of  your  system,  and  the  cup  of  sor- 
row before  untasted,  is  presented  to  your  quiver- 
ing lips.  The  blithesome  step  of  youth  is  ex- 
changed for  the  faltering  gait  of  old  age,  the  quick 
pulse  of  early  vigour,  has  sobered  off  into  the  lan- 
guid circulation  of  your  wintry  term  of  probation. 
A  voice  as  infallible  as  if  an  angel  spoke  proclaims 
the  departure  of  your  joys,  and  the  speedy  coming 
of  your  final  conflict.     Such  a  voice  must  rouse 


ADDRESSED  TO  THE  AGED. 


395 

your  fears.  It  must  bring  into  active  excitement 
all  the  thought,  and  reason  and  forecast  of  which 
you  are  capable.  The  storm  is  gathering ; — have 
you  a  shelter  ?  The  unsparing  revenger  is  near 
at  hand :  have  you  a  city  of  refuge  ? 

You  find  in  the  second  place,  that  you  are  daily 
becoming  more  and  more  insulated  beings  in  this 
giddy  world.  Custom,  indeed,  respects  age ;  sym- 
pathy pities  its  sorrows  and  privations,  and  charity 
relieves  its  most  urgent  necessities;  but  after 
these  mitigating  agents  have  performed  their  of- 
fices, it  is  consigned  to  comparative  neglect  and  so- 
litude. Death  has  removed  the  associates  of  your 
youth,  time  has  withered  the  sympathies  which 
united  you  with  your  companions,  and  the  new  ge- 
neration finds  society  enough  without  you.  They 
regard  you  as  a  sort  of  obsolete  furniture,  which 
may  be  thrown  aside  into  any  corner  or  recess. 
Loneliness  is  thus  added  to  the  evils  which  are 
gathering  about  you.  The  world  is  ceasing  to 
bring  in  its  tribute  to  you,  the  avenues  of  inter- 
course with  all  external  things  are  obstructed,  and 
you  are  thus  driven  in  upon  the  resources  of  the 
little  world  within  you.  You  are  left  to  yourselves, 
in  the  gloom  of  life's  evening ;  the  busy  actors 
upon  the  stage  are  occupied  with  each  other,  and 
are  indifferent  whether  you  become  the  prey  of 
corroding  cares,  or  pine  away  with  sickness,  or 
glow  with  raptures,  impatient  of  your  delayed  fru- 
ition. 


OOfJ  -  CONSIDERATIONS 

Again,  let  it  be  remembered  that  age  is  usually 
attended  with  the  decay  of  the  mental  faculties, 
and  a  general  imbecility  of  character.  That 
promptitude  and  decision  which  characterise  our 
earlier  years,  in  the  more  advanced  periods  of  our 
existence,  are  apt  to  give  place  to  mental  hesitancy 
and  irresolution.  It  is  then  that  we  shrink  from 
every  new  enterprise.  Application  becomes  irk- 
some, study  is  laborious ;  and  instead  of  replen- 
ishing our  exhausted  stores  of  intellectual  attain- 
ment, we  are  laid  under  a  sort  of  necessity  to  sit 
still  and  witness  the  gradual  waste  of  past  aquisi- 
tions.  The  mind  is  then  less  able  of  itself  to  b^ear 
up  under  the  pressure  of  life ;  reverses  are  less 
supportable,  the  wounds  of  the  spirit  are  more 
difficult  to  be  healed,  and  the  very  constitution  of 
the  soul  contracts  a  sickly  temperament.  "  You 
will  bring  down  my  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave,"  was  an  affecting  prediction  founded  upon 
a  just  knowledge  of  human  nature. 

A  last  source  of  inquietude  to  age,  is  an  in- 
crease of  the  cares  of  earlier  life.  It  might  be 
hoped  that  the  distractions  of  worldly  anxiety 
would  recede  as  the  invisible  world  approaches, 
that  the  ties  of  temporal  things  would  be  dissolved, 
as  the  obligations  of  eternal  things  acquire  aug- 
mented force,  and  that  the  world  would  relax  its 
claims  as  eternity  begins  to  exhibit  its  demands ; 
but  the  fact  is  often  reversed.  You  multiply  your 
connexions  with  earth,  you  extend  the  circles  of 


^  ADDRESSED  TO  THE  AGED.  OQ^ 

business,  of  relationship,  and  of  care:  and  instead 
of  cutting  the  cords  for  your  upward  flight,  you 
bind  them  the  more  closely.  You  imagine  that 
your  children  and  your  children's  children  require 
your  attention,  that  your  fostering  counsels  are 
necessary  to  guide  their  giddy  ways,  that  the  ex- 
perience of  age  is  requisite  to  check  their  impe- 
tuous follies,  and  to  direct  them  in  the  paths  of 
virtue  and  happiness.  It  is  thus,  brethren,  that 
you  find  motives  for  renewing  your  attachment  to 
the  world,  even  down  to  gray  hairs.  And  when 
eternity  comes  so  near  to  you  that  you  cannot  see 
it  on  account  of  its  nearness,  you  are  still  found 
clinging  to  your  native  clod.  This  renders  your 
trials  doubly  severe,  by  renewing  the  attachments 
which  should  be  forgotten,  by  driving  you  farther 
out  into  life's  tempestuous  sea,  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  you  should  be  preparing  to  enter  the 
haven  of  rest. 

But  we  remark  in  continuation,  that  to  the  aged 
Christian,  there  are  peculiar  consolations  and 
RESOURCES.  We  must  urge  the  limitation  of  these 
consolations  and  resources  to  the  aged  Christian 
only.  Many  go  down  to  wrinkles  and  gray  hairs 
without  the  support  of  the  Gospel.  They  spend 
their  Lord's  money  upon  the  trifles  of  time,  burn 
out  their  intellectual  fire  in  exciting  the  sparks  of 
unhallowed  imaginations,  and  in  the  winter  of  life 
have  no  other  comfort  than  this,  that  they  have 

34 


OQO  CONSIDERATIONS 

spent  their  spring  and  summer  in  the  magnificent 
employment  of  serving  themselves,  in  the  moment- 
ous business  of  floating  straws,  and  in  the  other 
fantastic  pomp  of  earth's  vanities.  To  such,  age 
will  have  no  resources.  You  are  then  most  mise- 
rable, when  you  have  the  greatest  need  of  the  al- 
leviations of  sorrow.  You  are  then  left  in  clouds 
and  darkness  when  you  most  need  a  serene  beam 
to  enliven  the  scene  of  your  final  conflict. 

Not  so  with  the  Christian.  His  declining  years 
bring  to  him  a  settled  maturity  in  the  experience 
of  God's  love.  That  God  who  was  the  friend  of 
his  youth,  is  still  more  the  friend  of  his  old  age ; 
his  counsels  are  more  respected,  his  word  is  better 
understood,  the  methods  of  his  Providence  are 
more  clearly  comprehended,  and  with  greater 
ease  are  reconciled  to  all  the  varying  aspects  of 
the  present  world. 

Your  graces,  ripened  by  age,  place  you  on 
terms  of  more  intimate  converse  with  heaven. 
Experience  has  taught  you  the  unfailing  charac- 
ter of  the  divine  promises  ;  the  presence  of  God 
in  past  troubles,  affords  you  a  pledge  of  succour 
in  the  coming  trials  of  life ;  oft  resisted  tempta- 
tions have  lost  their  power  upon  the  heart,  the  oft 
repeated  negative  by  which  you  have  replied  to 
sinful  solicitations,  has  rendered  those  solicitations 
few  and  feeble,  and  you  are  now  beginning  to 
stand  firm  amid  the  dismal  fluctuations  of  the 
changing  world  around  you. 


ADDRESSED  TO  THE  AGED.  QOO 

You  have  also  attained  the  important  art  of 
living  upon  the  resources  within  you.  Though 
you  can  find  no  natural  inherent  good  within 
yourselves,  yet  you  can  perceive  the  more  evident 
traces  of  the  finger  of  God  writing  his  laws,  and 
impressing  his  image  upon  the  tables  of  your 
hearts.  To  render  these  impressions  moredeep, 
to  brighten  your  evidences  for  immortality,  and  to 
improve  your  devotion  into  high  and  sweet  com- 
munion, is  now  your  most  pleasing  occupation. 
This  you  can  best  pursue  when  the  world  is  shut 
out,  and  you  are  left  alone  with  God. 

The  thought  that  you  are  approaching  the  end 
of  a  toilsome  pilgrimage,  must  not  be  the  smallest 
of  your  consolations.  It  gladdens  your  hearts  to 
come  wdthin  sight  of  land,  after  the  storms  of  a 
rough  voyage.  It  strikes  a  thrill  of  joy  through 
your  spirits,  to  climb  with  Moses  the  Pisgah  of  a 
realising  faith,  and  behold  the  promised  posses- 
sions of  the  blessed.  You  have  a  desire  to  depart^ 
and  this  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  your  most 
important  resources,  since  reluctance  in  leaving 
the  world  is  one  of  the  most  horrid  agonies  that 
can  afflict  the  soul. 

On  you,  brethren,  devolve  peculiar  duties  and 
OBLIGATIONS.  To  you  it  belongs  to  become  ex- 
amples to  the  whole  flock,  to  take  the  lead  in 
every  good  work,  to  teach  the  younger  members 
of  the  church  how  to  glorify  God,  to  exemplify  by 


400  COlvSIDERATIONS  ADDRESSED  TO  THE  AGED. 

successive  instances  of  patience  and  obedience, 
the  sublime  precepts  of  Jesus,  and  to  stand  forth 
as  his  faithful  and  well-tried  witnesses.  On  your 
character  he  has  stamped  the  unfading  hneaments 
of  a  divine  life,  an  1  on  the  issue  of  your  conversa- 
tion, he  has  suspended  the  brightest  trophies  of  his 
grace.  It  is  for  you  to  take  the  lead  in  prayer,  to 
be  first  in  charity,  to  be  last  in  passion  and  preci- 
pitation. It  is  for  you  to  warn  the  unruly,  to  com- 
fort the  feeble-minded,  to  support  the  weak,  and 
to  be  patient  towards  all  men.  It  is  for  you  to  pro- 
mote the  spread  of  the  Gospel  by  the  encourage- 
ment of  missions,  the  patronage  of  Sabbath- 
schools,  and  the  extension  of  the  Bible.  In  a 
word,  it  belongs  to  you  to  bring  forth  fruit  in 
old  age,  to  gild  the  scenes  through  which  you 
pass,  with  the  mild  radiance  of  your  evening 
glory,  to  leave  a  memorial  which  shall  rouse  to 
commendable  deeds  those  who  may  survive  you, 
and  to  make  that  life  which  is  so  short  in  temporal 
duration,  long  and  imperishable  in  the  records  of 
eternal  blessedness.  When  called  to  mourn  your 
departure  under  circumstances  like  these,  we  shall 
remain  behind  you  to  contemplate  the  bright 
path  which  you  have  traced,  and  to  pursue  the 
same  way  to  happiness  and  God. 

THE  END. 


-;*^. 


•^H 


■jmm 


1^ 


